Behind the Virtual Matchmaker
by Candy world
Summary: Joey is desperate to find his other half online, so his best friend Yami decided to help. Slight puppyshipping but it's prideshipping in the end.
1. Chapter 1

I'm re-posting this story, if some of you remember, I won't make that much changes in the first two chapters, but I tried to modify them though :)

Thanks for bearing this with me specially Kukki Boo, Travis, abiak, and luminousSpark and others, sorry I don't remember their names, but thanks to all of you, I promise this time I'll complete them without taking them down :)

I don't own Yugioh

The words in bold for the chatting part.

888888888 **Chapter one** 888888888888

"Are you still glued to your laptop?" Yami asked Joey as he walked in carrying a new box into the room.

"Yeah," the blonde answered without even looking at Yami, "I gotta meet my other half and I gotta do it fast."

"Joey," Yami rolled his eyes, "those things don't work through the Internet!" He put down his box on a chair and returned to Joey. "Tell me, did you met 'Mr. right' this time?"

"Stop making fun of me," Joey growled as he continued, "and give me a piece of your pizza."

Yami stared. "Huh? What pizza?"

"The pizza you brought with ya when you just entered." Joey didn't look at Yami or anything else aside from his computer screen.

"Oh that," Yami looked at the box he brought and knew what Joey meant. "If you just made a little effort by looking at me, you would know that I didn't bring pizza."

"What?!" Joey turned around to face Yami, then he noticed the small box on the chair. "What's in there?"

"A few books for this semester so..."

Joey interrupted him, saying "Oh, can't you get enough of these things?" The blonde, in fact, resented it, when he heard the word 'book'. This word really brought misery to his life, and living with Yami didn't make it any easier on him. Yami's obsession with books would probably make Joey pass out someday.

"Actually, no I can't. I need these to maintain my high marks in order to keep my scholarship; which is paying for my study, this apartment, and anything else – especially food!" Yami smiled, "Pizza for example."

Joey sighed. Yami was right, his grandfather couldn't afford to pay for his studies. He could barley support his other grandson, Yugi, Yami's little brother, and because of Yami's responsible nature, he wouldn't let his grandfather fall into a financial crisis because of him. Joey understood this very well, and that was why he missed some parties and trips, to stay with Yami who remained at his apartment studying. The blonde' stomach started screaming. He needed to eat. "Can you cook something for me … er … I mean for us … please?"

Yami rolled his eyes. "Come on Joey. You're spending too many hours in this chatroom for nothing! You've even forgotten about your real life."

"Trust me Yami, I'm doing this to get a _real life_."

"Joey," Yami inched closer to Joey, putting his hand on the boy, "so what if you don't have a lover now, you will later. You're very smart and handsome. Don't get desperate if one relationship didn't work for you."

Joey rubbed his chin with his thump thinking, "Where have I heard those words?" his eyes lit up, "Oh, I remember, when a mother tries to comfort her ugly daughter! Another thing, they were three relationships, not one!"

"Whatever! Stop thinking like that. All of them look the same to me. So you came to the internet? Is this how you should deal with your past relationship?"

"Again, past relationship**_s_**." Joey pouted.

"Oh," Yami rolled his eyes, "whatever. I'm making a point here. This is wrong Joey. Meeting people on the internet is not the best way."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better. I know, Thanks pal, but this is my shot - look at you! You have every chance in here. You can have whoever you want. That's why you see the cyber chatting as wrong; because things go differently with you. In one day, you turned three from straight into bi just when you wore that black leather."

"Oh Joey, do you honestly believe that?! The rumors are faster than the lightning in this college. I bet that they were just in the closet and all they needed was a little push to come out!"

"Here you go again!" Joey said, "Trying to make me feel better… but nothing works. Let me have my way. In my previous relationships, I started without knowing the person from inside, I only looked at the outside. And here I am trying to avoid that mistake. I'm gonna chat with the right guy until I feel that we know each other enough, then we will meet, the looks will be the last thing."

"What if that guy lied and he was really an ugly fat old man?" Yami asked, "Then what? You'll start searching all over again, and if that time didn't work too, what would you do next? Try again, until you spend your whole life searching on-line for meaningless relationships?"

Joey shook his head, "Yami! You don't understand!"

"Understand what? Huh?" The conversation was beginning to get a little heated.

"Nothing." Joey turned his face, but Yami brought up his face again with the tip of his fingers. "You are _hot_ Joey. Do you hear me? _Hot, _and don't say I'm a comforting mother. I'll kill you. These things don't happen like this. They come spontaneously."

"Yeah," Joey mocked, "Like this is how it's going to play out: I'm holding a huge pile of books that hinder my vision. Someone will hit me and I'll drop them, then that person will apologize politely and carry the books for me because I'll lose my ability to carry things from his beauty. Then we will fall in love and live happily ever after!"

Yami sighed, "No, not like that."

"Oh yeah," Joey kept mocking, "I know how. I'll be walking in a street, holding a cup of coffee and looking back for some mysterious reason and not focusing on the road. Then some hot stuff from out of the blue will cannonball into me, causing me to spill all my cup contents onto my shirt. He'll apologize and take me to a hospital to make sure that I'm not severely burned from the coffee. Then he'll tell me how hot I am and how he fell for me from the first sight and…."

"And what?" Yami interrupted, "What's your point?"

"Get real Yami. Those things happen only on television. Now let me continue my work." Joey went back to typing on his keyboard, but he was interrupted again -not by Yami, but by his angry hungry stomach.

"You need to eat Joey." Yami stated quietly.

"I guess you're right," he replied, standing from his chair, when Yami stopped him. "Relax, I'm gonna make something for you."

"No Yami, it was rude from me to ask you that earlier. You just came in. You're probably tired."

Yami pressed his hand gently against Joey's shoulder making him sit down again. "Look, you will find love in no time. I'm sure of it."

"If you say so." Joey didn't want to prolong the conversation.

"But," Yami surprisingly continued, "I have a proposal for you. If you don't find a lover by the end of this semester- which is not gonna happen," He explained cheerfully, "I assure you- then I'll be your lover! How does that sound? You said that you see me as a hottie in leather pants right? I'll wear them as much as you want during the day, and," he winked, "I'll wear nothing for you during the night."

Joey snorted, "Now to the pity love. What's next? My answer is, no thanks."

"Wow!" Yami clutched his heart, "My first rejection. But as they say, there is a first for everything."

Joey frowned, "Your rejection did hurt Joey." Yami faked a painful moan, but when he saw the serious look on the other's face he coughed, "I better go and cook something."

At that moment, a new message came to computer screen. It said, '**Hi**'**.**

"Who's that?" Yami asked forgetting about the food.

"I don't know," Joey answered.

"Then why don't you ask him? Say hi back to him." Yami said and Joey nodded. He typed, '**Hi**' back.

Another message appeared: '**I saw your profile. It's interesting and I would like to know you better.**"

Joey grinned, "Did you hear that Yami? I mean … did you see that?"

"Yep," Yami smiled**.** He felt happy for his best friend.

Joey coughed, "Even though I receive millions of messages like this." He tried to hide his excitement, but he couldn't hold it in any longer. "What do you think I should tell him? Should I say that I love him?"

Yami smacked his head, "No! wait … wait … wait … wait." He prevented Joey from writing anything. "Joey! Listen to me. This is way too fast. First of all, you need to ask him for his name!"

Joey pointed his finger at Yami. "You're so good. Stay with me."

"Okay, now ask him- but first you gotta tell him that you are happy because he is interested in your profile."

"How can I do that?" Joey rubbed his hair.

"Here," Yami grabbed the keyboard. "Let me help."

"Right."

Yami started typing back: '**Oh, I'm glad you found the profile interesting, but I'm curious about what makes you think that?**'

The young men waited until the next message appeared from the mysterious sender: '**You wrote that you want to know someone, and knowing his face is the last thing you'll do. I like that. In fact, this is exactly what I want.**'

_Maybe because **you're** a sucker when it comes to** relationships**, _Yami thought**,** but he couldn't say a word that might piss Joey off.

"What should I say Yami?"

"Wait, wait Joey. He doesn't want you to know his face. Maybe he is …. Umm … umm**…**" Yami tried to find the right word.

"Ugly?" Joey asked.

"Well, yah," Yami smiled slightly in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"He said he wanted looks to be the last thing- not, he doesn't want me to see him at all."

"People who are trying to hide their faces are either extremely ugly or extremely hot, and I doubt he is from the latter group or else he'll find his other half in no time."

"Are you implying that I'm extremely ugly because I share the same thinking as him**?**"

"No, no, _noooo_, not at all," Yami shook his head and his hands in defense. "Joey, I know your reasons, but what about his?"

"Maybe they are the same reasons or something similar," Joey suggested.

"Okay, if you say so." Then Yami continued writing: '**So you think looks don't matter?**'

They waited until the reply came: '**Not precisely, but I prefer to know the person well before I meet him personally; but of course I do appreciate a beautiful face.**'

"My thoughts exactly**,**" Joey commented as Yami typed his next message with a grin: '**My face will please you for sure, but how about your face?**'

"Yami!" Joey screamed, "Do you want him to leave? You shouldn't ask him such a personal question so fast!"

"That wasn't fast at all, and oh! This is coming from the one who wanted to admit love just from saying hi! Joey, I'm doing the right thing. If he wasn't truthful with you, then he better leave early."

And then the answer for Yami's question came: '**So you are pretty? Worry about neither my face nor my body. You will never tire of looking at them.**'

"Arrogant," Yam growled, looking at Joey**.** "I don't like arrogant people."

"But I like them," Joey protested.

"Since when? You hated them more than I do!"

"Let us continue this**,** shall we?" Joey said.

"Okay." Yami began writing again but a message came from the other person: '**What's your name?**'

"That's what we wanted to ask you, jerk!" Yami commented.

"Don't ever write that to him," Joey warned.

"I'm not an idiot, Joe," Yami told him as he went back to typing: '**My name is Joey, and you?**'

They didn't wait much when the next letter came: '**Seto**.'

As simple as that, the name of the other guy was Seto.

"Not a very common name!" Joey commented, "The only I know with this name is Seto Kaiba, the owner of Kaiba corporation." Joey looked to the side, imagining. Then he told Yami, "Imagine that it's him, the owner of that big gaming company and Kaiba land."

"Yeah," Yami agreed in sarcasm, "Because Seto Kaiba has a huge amount of free time and he doesn't have a company to run or a family to take care of or employees to keep an eye on 24/7 or he can't get any lover in the real world or anything. He is just behind the computer screen looking for the match maker to make its magic strike! Get real Joey!"

"I know, I'm just dreaming. You can't prevent anyone from dreaming," Joey said as he looked sideways. "By the way, did you get the latest game from Kaiba Corporation?"

"Yeah, it's on the television," Yami said.

"See? If Seto Kaiba was my boyfriend, then we would have every game in the world for free."

"Stop dreaming Joe! Don't start with your enormous imagination and think this is really Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corp. I just don't want you to be disappointed later," Yami ridiculed, adding, "when you see his _amazing_ body and face!"

"Maybe he really does have an amazing body and face," Joey said but his stomach gurgled again**,** reminding him of his undeniable hunger.

"I'm going to make something. Keep chatting with him," Joey said and left to the kitchen.

Yami returned to typing: '**Hello Seto.'**

**----**

**I'll probably post the next chapter(s) tomorrow :)**

**Hit on the green button and review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Yugioh..

Thanks for evryone reviewed and support me, thanks for the tips Blue September :) you guys are awesome.

As always, the bold font is for the chat between Seto and Joey/Yami

888888888 **Chapter 2** 88888888888

_"I'm gonna make something, keep chatting with him," Joey said, leaving to go to the kitchen._

_Yami returned to typing:_

**_'Hello Seto'_**

**'Hey Joey... was it? So, where do you live?' **Seto typed.

'**In Japan**,' Yami answered.

**'I know, I read your profile. Where in Japan?**'

Yami rolled his eyes before typing: '**In Domino city**.'

'**So do I**,' Seto said.

Yami's eyes widened slightly before typing. '**Really? We're in the same city? Where do you live exactly?**'

Yami waited for Seto's reply. '**I prefer to keep that question aside until we meet.**'

"Hn," Yami thought. He didn't like not knowing anything about the other person. Why was Seto refusing to tell him where he lived? Yami had to ask him about that too.

'**So**,' he typed, and then he erased it. He didn't know how to ask, but he tried again. '**Okay Seto…**' He thought and thought, then decided to be direct with his suspicions and continued writing, '**Okay Seto, I don't understand. Why you don't want me to know where you live?**'

He didn't have to wait long for a response. '**That question… ? What took you so long?**'

"Arrr … arrogant!" Yami said clenching on his teeth as he type, '**Can you please answer my question, the one that took me so long?**'

'**You'll know my reasons later. Right now, I want to know you better. Describe yourself**.'

"Is he playing with me?" Yami wondered, but he kept typing, '**You said looks are the last thing you want to know about, and yet you start asking about my looks**.'

'**I said I do appreciate beauty, and you said your face is beautiful. I just want to imagine you.**'

"Is that some sort of puzzle?" Yami asked himself. At the same time, he had to admit that he was starting to enjoy this conversation. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he resumed typing, '**Can't we just exchange our photos?**'

'**But it'll be more fun this way.'**

"Hmm... fun." The younger male mused as he read the message

**'So what do you look like? Tall? Thin? Blonde? Blue eyes? Smooth hair? Curly? Long hair? Nice ass? What exactly?**'

Yami gave the options he received a quick look, but he kept staring at the last one.

Another message from Seto came, '**I bet you're still looking at _nice ass_. Am I right?**'

'**Sadly, yes**.' Yami answered.

Then Seto asked, '**Why sadly? Isn't it sweet?**'

Yami smirked. '**It's sweeter than you'll ever imagine, just wait until you see it**.'

Quickly another message from Seto appeared, '**You mean until I _try_ it,'** with winking smiley face.

Yami's eyes widened at the comment, he didn't write anything but kept staring at it.

'**What**?' Seto said after few minutes.

'**What do you mean, 'what'**?' Yami typed back.

'**You didn't write anything. Was my last sentence too fast**?'

'**No, you just took me by surprise,**' Yami said, fighting the tint heat that rushed to his face. Joey was the one who's supposed to be speaking with Seto, not him. It didn't feel right for Yami to be speaking on the blonde's behalf about such intimate details.

'**You were surprised? So you don't mind speaking about something like that**?' Seto asked.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Yami asked himself. He really wasn't comfortable with that sort of talk, especially when he was not the one for whom it was meant. "Joey!" Yami shouted.

"Yeah?" Joey's answer came from the kitchen.

"Can you come back? Your future boyfriend is really horny."

Joey laughed, "Then be hornier."

"What?! Joey! Come and see."

"Okay, okay. Just give me five minutes," Joey answered through a mouthful of food.

Yami sighed then he looked at the computer screen. Another message came when he was talking to Joey. '**Where are you?**'

"This isn't right." Yami thought, "Seto thinks that Joey is talking with him, but… Ahhh!" The tri-color haired boy scratched his head. He wanted to type but another message came: '**There**?'

'**Yes**.' Yami answered.

'**What happened?**' Seto asked.

'**Seto, You just seem so … I don't know**,' Yami looked at his message, he didn't know what to say, then he clicked on the 'send' button leaving the message as it was.

'**Forward?**' Seto predicted.

Yami stared at Seto's reply. It was true in its own way. That jerk sure had his way of making things look a lot better. He smiled as he returned to typing: **'I wouldn't put it that way, but yes, you also seem forward …. Very forward ...'**

Yami didn't have to wait long for the response. '**So do you want me to stay at that level of forwardness or take it down a notch?**'

Was he apologizing? Yami's wondered. A drew across his face. Seto was nice and knew exactly what to say if the one looked at him indirectly. He'd changed the direction of their conversation dramatically and easing Yami's discomfort. He seemed very mature, but Yami didn't want him to be _too_ mature; like someone in his forties or more. It hit the young man to ask:

'**I'm curious Seto, how old are you?**'

'**How old do you think I am?**' Seto said.

'**I don't have any idea, just tell me**.'

'**Why? I started having an idea about your age**.'

Yami raised his eyebrow, "What? Can't he stop being a snooty asshole for once?"

'**And how old am I?**'

The collage student hadn't been waiting long when the next message popped, '**Under twenty, right?**'

Yami grinned with a bit of shock. How could Seto guess his approximate age? He started to like the fact that Seto was a jerk, a sweet jerk in Yami's eyes. '**Right, I'm 19**.'

And that was true for both Joey and Yami. They both were nineteen years old, but at that point, Yami didn't know who he was speaking for, him or Joey? He in fact began enjoying the chat with Seto.

'**Still studying?**' Seto asked.

'**Yes, I'm in the second semester of my second year at collage. How about you? You didn't say anything about your age.**' Yami wanted to ask more, he gave it a second thought and decided to end the message there.

'**Give it a try. It's a guessing game, or do you suck at games**?'

Before, a question like this would have pissed Yami off, but he just smiled. He was getting used to Seto and his way of talking. He smirked, typing back:

**'Maybe I suck at games, or maybe I'm a _sucking _expert**.' Yami bit his lips, waiting; and then a picture of thumbs up appeared on the computer screen from Seto.

'**But you didn't answer. How old are you?**' Yami insisted on knowing the answer. His curiosity was starting to get the better of him.

'**I'll tell you when we meet**.'

'**No, no, noooo. That's not fair. I told you my age. If I reveal something, you should do the same. We only agreed on not sending each other photos.**'

'**Then I'll tell you next week**.'

Yami hated when he did this, '**Not that even. I told you today, so you have to tell me today as well**.'

'**Then I'll tell you at the end of today, okay**?'

'**No, not okay. Just tell me.**' Yami was on the verge of exploding from Seto's evasive responses.

'**I was only teasing you. You're only nineteen, still very susceptible to teasing. I only wish I could see your curious face**.'

Yami stopped for a moment when he read the last message came from Seto. He narrowed his eyes, '**You think of me as _only_ nineteen? My age is _only_ to you? Are you over forty?**' He waited, hoping for '_no'_ as an answer.

'**Told you. You're awful at games. I'm not over forty, I'm 23.**'

"Oh." Yami sighed. He finally knew; or otherwise he wouldn't sleep before finding out. Another message came from Seto:

'**Happy now?**'

Yami laughed and typed, '**Yeah**.'

'**Good**,' Seto said.

'**So are you student as well?**' Yami asked.

'**No, I've completed my studies and I'm working now**.'

'**Okay, but why did you take today off? Or is it a holiday at your work place?**' Yami asked. That day was Monday, a working day, and it was the day time. Yami guessed that Seto must be at home.

'**I'm not taking today off. I'm at work right now**.'

"Oh." Yami stared, a little surprised, '**But what if your boss catches you chatting during working hours? Look, you're going to get into trouble, so we can talk later. It's okay**.'

'**Don't worry, my boss won't object to my chatting during work. You can talk to me as much as you want**,' Seto replied.

'**Really? He seems very understanding**,' Yami typed.

'**Or you can say he's only understanding to me**.'

A mix of curiosity and discomfort welled with Yami, and he began to wonder if there is something between Seto and his boss that made his boss very tolerant of him? That didn't seem right, Yami wanted to ask about it but he didn't know how best to broach the subject. He thought and thought and typed finally, '**Why's he so understanding to you only? Is he your relative or something?**'

'**Jealous already**?' Seto asked.

Yami started typing quickly. This is why he hadn't wanted to ask, so Seto wouldn't accuse him of stupid things like this, and yet Seto had managed to tap into his mind, '**No, I'm not jealous.'**

'**Relax, and don't let your imagination run away with you. Like you said, my boss is a very close relative of mine**.'

"Ohhh," Yami grinned goofily to himself looking at the computer screen, he re-read the answer again and again. "You sacred me!" the younger male said to the computer, then his eyes widened in a surprise. He was getting far too into this conversation. He was supposed to be doing this on Joey's behalf.

Speaking of Joey, he finally finished his food and joined Yami behind the computer.

"Do you call all this time _five _minutes??" Yami asked with a grimace.

"What can I say? I really was hungry." Joey said as he threw his arms around Yami's shoulder, "So what did ya talk about?"

"This." Yami pointed at the screen. He scrolled with the mouse up and down along their chat, and then, he asked Seto to speak with him later to give Joey a chance to read what had been said between them. Seto signed out and Joey sat instead of Yami reading, as Yami started to leave the place.

"Hey! Where are you going pal?" Joey called Yami when he saw him walking away.

"I have to change my clothes, I need to go and buy some things for Yugi and my grandfather. I'm visiting them this weekend. I haven't seen them in two months. Yugi was very excited when he heard."

"Good luck then." He turned back to his computer then he remembered, "Oh. I almost forgot! Do ya have enough money?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Look! My father sent money for me yesterday; ya can use some of it."

Yami smiled, "It's not like I don't have a scholarship. Don't worry! I have enough money, besides you need every penny from your father."

"But ya agreed on sharing this apartment with me for free. I have to help pal."

Yami gave Joey a last glance before leaving the room, "Being my friend, my real friend is your help to me." He turned his back and raised his thumbs up along the way.

Joey smiled and went to read what Seto and his best friend's conversation.

And when Yami was about to leave the apartment, Joey called him back. He returned to the room where the blonde was sitting, and there he saw his eyesight glued to the computer screen.

"What is it Joe?" Yami asked suspecting that he got carried away with Seto and discussed some details he shouldn't have.

"Man! You're so good Yami." Joey said admiringly as he added, "This is exactly how I felt, like when he talked about my ass, and then you changed the subject knowingly."

"Don't you get it Joey? I didn't change anything. He was apologizing to you in his way. You have to read him deeper."

The blond straightened up, from reading and looked at Yami, "Man! You're really good at this. Listen, I'll give ya my password so ya can chat with him while I ain't here or if you're at your grandfather's house."

"What?!" Yami asked blinking.

"Yes please, I can't do this on my own, and that's why love didn't find its way to me. Help me to understand people more!"

"Are you sure?" Yami wanted to make sure that Joey didn't mind any talk between Seto and him like that.

"Yeah," Joey said happily, "You can speak his language and you can express my feelings in ways I can't think of. So whadda you say Yami?"

Yami shrugged, "Okay! If you say so."

"Thanks." Joey smiled happily.

"You're welcome," He smiled back as he continued on his way to the mall.

* * *

End of chapter 2 ... I'll try to post the third chapter as soon as I can.

Reviews like water they keep me alive ;)


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Yugioh

As always the bold font is for the chat between Seto and Joey/Yami

Thanks for the reviewers :)

8888888888888 **Chapter 3** 8888888888888

"I bought this for grandpa." Yami took a simple blue shirt out of his shopping bag and showed it to Joey. When the blond nodded, he put the shirt aside and took a pair of black jeans and a sport blouse out of another bag. "And these for Yugi."

"Those are nice. Yugi definitely will like them," Joey commented.

"And I shouldn't forget about this," Yami brought out a small box, "Grandpa and Yugi love this kind of chocolate." Yami put them aside then he looked at Joey. "And of course I didn't forget you. I bought some chocolate for you too."

Joey's eyes sparkled. "Thanks Yami, even though you shouldn't have."

"Aha." Yami shook his head smiling, "It's okay."

"By the way …" Joey said.

"What?"

"I tried to speak with Seto today, but I didn't know what to say."

"And…" Yami waited.

"And I told him that I needed to go for now and that I'd talk to him later."

"Okay… but Joey, you'll need to talk to him. You'll meet him soon if things work between you two, you should get used to talking to him."

"Okay … Okay." Joey quickly answered, "But you have to help me now. And then we'll think of everything else ... later."

Yami wanted Joey to speak on his own behalf, but at the same time, he was happy to continue talking with Seto. Maybe because some sort of friendship was starting to develop between them. Besides any boyfriend of Joey's would also be friends with him, and Seto did have a very interesting personality.

Yami agreed to talk to Seto to correct Joey's pitfalls. After changing his clothes, he sat behind the computer to start chatting, but before he could begin, he saw the blond leaving. "Where are you going Joey?" he asked.

"I gotta go now. I have to meet Tristan in a half hour. I wrote my user name and my password in a small note for ya. You can chat with him anytime and..." Joey's eyes glistened, "make him love me."

"Sure, have fun." Yami laughed raising a thumbs up as Joey left.

Yami returned to the computer and signed in. There, he found Seto signed in too and immediately, started chatting with him.

**'Hello Seto. Sorry I couldn't talk to you earlier. I had to go.**' Yami typed

But nothing came from Seto's side, so Yami typed again, **'Seto,' **and waited, and when nothing came, he typed, **'Are you in there?' **Yami glanced at the computer screen, anxiously waiting any reply from Seto, the latter was online, but why he didn't say anything? Suddenly a message appeared on the screen.

'**Hey Joey. I wasn't behind my computer.' **

"Ah… That's what delayed him," thought Yami, relieved. He figured that they should agree on a specific time to chat with each other. It'd be better than guessing the other on-line. **'What's the best time for you Seto? I mean when can we talk?'**

**'Don't worry, you'll find me available most of the time. I was just taking care of something over the phone, so I didn't see your message. Besides I didn't expect you to come back this soon. I thought you went to visit someone.'**

'**No, I just went to buy a few things and I'm not a big fan of shopping. That's why it didn't take long**.'

'**So how was your shopping trip? Was it any good?**' Seto asked.

**'Yeah, I found what I wanted, but it was a little daunting at the beginning.'**

'**Daunting?**' Seto asked.

**'Yeah,' **Yami typed, **'I went to mega mall and I asked about the price of some suit. Can you imagine how much it was?'**

**'How much?'**

'**Ten thousand dollars! Oh God… It was horrible. I asked about the price for shoes I saw there, and it was eight-hundred and fifty. I wanted to buy it for my brother …' **Suddenly,Yami realized that he was talking about himself again. He erased the word brother from his message and typed again, **'I wanted to buy it for my sister.' **That was kind of true. Joey did have a sister. Yami continued writing his message, **'Sometimes it scares me seeing places like that.'**

He entered the message and waited for Seto's answer.

'**But those places have their customers as well,' **Seto told him.

**'I doubt that there is someone who's going buy a suit that costs ten thousand dollars.'**

'**Who knows…**?'

**'I** **told myself that it's better not to get caught up in material possessions, but sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me, and I find myself in places like that.'**

'**Really? So you need clothes that badly?**' Seto asked.

'**No actually. I'm visiting my family this weekend, and I bought some clothes for them.'**

'**I know how you feel. I have a little brother. I always do that for him.'**

Yami glanced at the message. Seto could be nice sometimes, but an asshole other times. He knew what it was like to have passion for your family. Seto was just like him. In fact, the only difference in Yami's eyes is that he couldn't always afford to give Yugi everything he needed. He wished he could though.

"We're on the same page Seto," Yami said. He was beginning to like this guy. Not only verbally sparring with him, but also getting to know him as a person. Every chat with Seto revealed another side of him and the latest one was very important to Yami. Seto was caring to the one he loves. And as always, Yami was happy for Joey. Joey deserved such a loving boyfriend, and nothing less.

And if Yami liked Seto as a friend there was nothing wrong with that. He'd be Joey's boyfriend after all, so it wasn't a bad idea for Yami to get to know him better.

'**Where are you?**' A message from Seto appeared on the screen.

**'Here.' **Yami wrote.

'**I thought you'd gotten lost in one of those scary malls again**.'

"Okay, can't you be nice without being an ass?" Yami said, but he wasn't mad at all. He loved Seto's dynamic character. Instead, he smiled as he returned to his typing: **'I got it once. Don't worry I'm immune now**.'

Yami waited for Seto to write anything. He waited and waited for an answer that didn't appear.

"Where is he now?!" Yami kept thinking of a reason behind Seto's delay, and suddenly, he frowned angrily. "What if he's chatting with someone else?! How dare he do that to me… I mean to Joey?" Yami had to ask what was going on.

**'You still there?' **The tri-colored male typed. But nothing came.

**'Seto?' **He typed again, and again, no reply from Seto.

Yami was on the verge of exploding, so he typed one more time: '**Seto, you still there?'**

**'Hello?'** He sent another massage.

And then finally Seto's answer came, '**Easy on the keyboard Joey! I'm still here.**'

**'Who** **were you chatting with? Tell me. It's not good if we start with lies and cheating.'**

'**You know Joey, if the buttons of your keyboard could speak, they'd be screaming in pain by now.**' Seto wrote.

Yami fumed, **'You didn't answer my question, Seto! I trusted you. With whom were you chatting?'**

'**I can only imagine your jealousy**.' Seto simply said.

**'This isn't jealousy. You should be truthful from the start.' **That's why Yami hated meeting people through the internet. You couldn't guarantee their honesty, no matter how kind and nice the person seemed.

'**I'm not chatting with anyone. Why do you have to explain my absence as chatting with someone else on the internet? I had to take an emergency phone call. I didn't even have the time to warn you**.'

'**So you're busy now?**'

'**Not precisely. Look, there are two things you must be aware of: number one, I don't talk to anyone other than you, keep that in mind. And number two, in my line of work, I have to take phone calls anytime. I'll try to warn you next time. Okay?**' Seto said and Yami inhaled deeply to relax his tense muscles. Then another message from Seto came: '**So don't go away.**'

Yami smiled typed, '**I won't.' **He sent the message then he looked at what he wrote. He was relieved to know that Seto wasn't chatting with someone else.

'**Good. Now Joey, can I ask you a bold question?**'

"A bold question!" Yami read aloud enough to hear himself. He blinked repeatedly, "What does he mean?" Yami was pushed by his curiosity and said, **'Sure, ask what you want.'**

Yami waited the question that came quickly, **'How big it is?'**

"Big?" Yami arched an eyebrow before changing his confused face to a very stunned one. "Oh My GOD! He's not asking me about that!"

**'Joey.'**

Yami didn't answer. He didn't know what to say. He was supposed to be Joey, so he had to talk about the blonde. Yami's mind unintentionally started imagining Joey's _things_. He shook his head at once. This was so messed up. He'd have to have a serious talk with Joey about this.

**'Joey.' **Another message from Seto came. **'It's okay. You can tell me if it's small.'**

Yami's eyes widened, "How the hell I should know?" He grabbed his head trying to prevent himself from imagining Joey again. "Aaah... you pervert!" but finally he managed to say:

**'Can we talk about this later?'** '_Like when the right person is talking to you,' _Yami thought.

**'That's fine.'**

Yami sighed, he was glad to end that kind of talk, he wanted to end the whole chat at least until when Joey came back. '**Seto, I have to go and return the clothes that I bought from the mall,' he typed, wanting to end the conversation.**

'**Speaking of clothes, what type of clothes do you wear?**' Seto asked.

**'Leather pants.'** The younger male wrote and sent the message. He gasped at what he had written. That was the second time it had happened; he'd typed without thinking. Joey never wore any leather clothes, but Yami did. _That's it_, Yami thought. He had to correct that mistake. He started typing again:

**'Oh. Sorry, I misread your message. I thought you were asking me about what I wore today while shopping, but you meant generally right? In general I wear jeans, but today I wanted to try leather pants for once, so I borrowed one from my friend Yami.' **Yami didn't know why he even entered his name into this conversation. Maybe he wanted Seto to know about him … Yami shook his head. No way, that definitely was not the answer. And he didn't want to find himself in that vortex of questions again. He looked at the computer screen to end what he began, but another message from Seto came.

'**I bet you look much better than him in leather**.'

That answer took Yami by the surprise. He wrote back, '**No, definitely not. There is no one better than Yami when it comes to leather. It looks like he's made for them and they're made only for him. My friend is very hot- hotter than hell.'**

'**Why are you talking about him like this? Is there something between you two?**'

Yami suddenly realized that he was supposed to be Joey. Biting his lower lip, he typed, '**What, jealous?'**

Seto's answer appeared, **'This isn't jealousy. You should be truthful from the start.'**

Yami's eyes widened. Seto never seemed to fail to amaze him.** 'You remembered what I said,'**

**'And I didn't forget a letter of it. This is exactly what I want, an honest person, and more importantly, for them to be mine and mine alone.'**

Yami's eyes softened as he stared at the answer. Seto was definitely the one Joey needed. He only wished that his friend was beside him reading it. Even though Joey would see the chat eventually, Yami would have liked to see that smile on Joey's face, the smile that meant it was finally happening, and love could be found anywhere. And on the bright side Joey will finally be the one answering Seto's bold questions_,_ Yami thought, bringing his mind back to their earlier conversation. He felt his cheeks begin to warm again.

888888888888888

End of chapter three .. Updating next chapter will be slower ... Sorry about that ^^!


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own it

Thanks to Blue September for editing this chapter :)

As always, the bold font for the chat between Jeoy/Yami and Seto

88888888888888 **Chapter 4** 888888888888888888

Yami sat behind the computer screen. He was bored, Joey wasn't there, and there was nothing for him to do. So he decided to see if Seto was there on line.

"Okay." Yami held the small note between his fingers. It contained the username and the password for Joey's account. He stared at it for a little bit before typing. 'Red eyes' was his username, and 'black dragon' was the password.

Yami laughed, remembering his history classes, with Joey, back in school. When the teacher had told them about an ancient legendary dragon that was found in the ancient Egyptian scripts, and how the Egyptians believed in that dragon's ability to protect them from grave danger, Joey couldn't get that story out of his head. He'd even made the name of that dragon, the red eyes black dragon, his user name and password. The funny part was that Seto used 'Blue eyes', as a username for his account. They were like blue eyes versus red eyes.

Yami signed in, and as he expected, Seto was there too.

**'Hi Seto,'** He typed, hoping the other would reply quickly.

**'Hey there, I missed you,' **Seto said immediately, as if he had been waiting behind his computer.

Yami's eyes widened before blinking couple of times. Seto had never been like that, **'What? You missed me? I don't know what to say Seto, but the last time we talked was yesterday!' **

**'I can't stand life without you for one more second.'**

"Whoa, whoooa. Hold on," Yami said, amazed by the sudden change of tone. Seto was usually so reserved, and now he was in love with him! He had to understand what was going on, so he typed back**, "We barely know each other, what are you saying?'**

**'I feel as if I've known you for years .' **

That didn't answer anything for Yami. On the contrary, it increased his confusion. Yami felt like he was talking to someone else, not the Seto from the day taking a quick look at the whole conversation, Yami returned to the keyboard writing**, 'Seto! What's wrong?'**

**'Nothing's wrong. I have a surprise for you.' **

"Huh!" Yami arched one eye brow,** 'I hate surprises, just tell me what is it?'**

**'I'm chatting on my cell phone now. And if you want to see me just open your door.'**

"What!" Yami gasped, startled by Seto's last comment. He read it again and again before writing, **'What do you mean Seto?'**

How could Seto find where he lived? Yami waited impatiently, when Seto typed back, **'I heard your screaming. Come on, open the door.' **

The younger man was utterly shocked. Was he reading right? Deciding not to waste anymore time wondering, Yami he rose up from his chair and opened the door. His leg hit the edge of the table there. He was on the verge of falling on his face, but he didn't care. He hurried to open the door, and see what Seto looked like.

Yami's hand reached out to the door's knob, and opened it eagerly. And there was a young man, as sexy as hell, his face was indeed amazing. And not to mention, his body was smoking hot.

"So this is how you look," Yami said, grinning from ear to ear.

A sexy smile appeared on Seto's lips, "And this is you. As I said I can't stay without you for one more second Yami."

'Wait …. Yami?!' Yami thought to himself. Wasn't he supposed to be Joey?!

"Yami?!" Yami asked.

"Of course, Yami!" Seto confirmed, continuing, "Yami! What's wrong?" Then Seto's voice became Joey's, "Yami!"

Joey's voice continued calling his name until he opened his eyes to realize the fact that he was in nothing more than a … dream!

"Ah Joey." He groaned slightly before closing his eyes again to adjust to the light, "What is it Joey?"

"I heard your voice. Apparently you were talking in your sleep. Are you okay?"

"Really?" Yami asked, "Sorry if I woke you up."

"Naah ... it's okay. I was awake anyway. Now let me help you to get yourself up." Joey held his hand.

"Yeah, thanks." Yami took Joey's hand. "But why are you up early?"

"I have an extra lecture today. And you have to get ready too. I bet your family is waiting for you now."

Yami nodded, "Yeah, you're right."

After that, he pair had their breakfast, and when the time was seven o'clock. Yami went to change and pack his things. Joey decided to say good morning to Seto and see if he was there before heading back to the collage.

"Speaking of Seto," Yami said pulling out his bags from his room.

"What?"

Yami looked at Joey for a moment. "Even though I don't know him all that well, I think he's the one for you Joey."

Joey smiled. "You think so? Really?"

Yami couldn't help but smile back, "Yep! Don't misunderstand me Joey. I still think that meeting people through the internet is a mistake, but that doesn't mean you can't get lucky sometimes. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to leave early so I can arrive home early."

"Tack care. And send my greetings to Yugi and your grandfather." Joey said, watching his best friend walk out of the apartment.

"I will." Yami said, closing the main door behind him.

And once Joey was alone, he went to his computer and logged into the chatroom.

**'Good morning Seto,**' he typed, wondering if Seto would be awake, or at home preparing himself, before leaving to work.

**'Good morning Joey, you're awake early,' **Seto typed quickly, making Joey smile.

**'Yeah, and I wanted to see if you were here.'**

**'And I'm here. So what are you doing this week end?'**

**'Nothing I guess. My friend, who I share the place with, left to visit his family and I'm alone now.'**

**'The friend with the leather pants?' **Seto asked.

Joey laughed, "Yami told him about that." He typed again, **'Yeah, that's him, his name is Yami. Speaking of him, he told me today that you're the one for me.'**

**'Excuse me?' **Seto said.

"Oh. What did I say?" Joey asked himself, remembering that the other didn't know anything about his chatting with Yami the whole time. The blonde could imagine Seto's puzzlement at that moment, so he typed, **'Sometimes he reads some of our chats, and he told me what he thought.'**

**'Okay, now I've got your friend's blessing. How lucky am I? So who's next? Your kitty?'**

**'I don't have a kitty. And Yami is my best friend.**' Joey wrote, catching the sarcastic hint in Seto's message. He wouldn't let anyone talk like that about Yami.

**'Whatever, let's speak about you. Shall we?"**

**'What is it?'**

**'I need your phone number.'**

**'What? Why?' **Gasping in horror, Joey couldn't do that. Seto would know that both he and Yami were talking to him!

**'I want to talk with you through the phone. Beside you're not always online. Is there a problem with that?**' Seto asked.

**'No, it's not a problem.' **Joey looked around, trying to find what can he add to the message**, 'On the contrary, I'd be happy to hear you finally.' **The younger boy could hear his own heart beating at that moment. With trembling fingers, he continued**, 'Unfortunately; my cell phone is broke and I sent it to be fixed. Bad, huh?'**

**'Okay, what about the ****landline?'**

'**I don't have one.'** Joey typed quickly.

**'Alright. When will your phone be fixed?' **

**'I don't know, but I'll tell you when it's done.'**

**'Are you trying to avoid talking to me?' **Seto asked.

"Oh, you got me! What should I do?" Joey said, tense from thinking of what might happen if Seto discovered what was happening. One thought was playing in his mind … Yami. Yes! Yami would definitely help. He couldn't think of another way out of the situation. Joey moved his gaze from the screen to the keyboard and started typing:

**'Why would you assume that?'**

Joey sent the message and stood searching on his phone hurriedly. And when he found it he dialed Yami's number. To his surprise, he heard Yami's phone ringing inside his room!

"Shit!" Joey cursed, "He forgot to take his phone with him and won't have arrived home yet. What can I do?" The blonde looked at the computer again, deciding to face it his way since there wouldn't be any use asking for Yami's help every time something happened between him and Seto. He sat again and saw the new message that must had been sent while he was trying to call Yami

**'It's obvious. You don't want me to know your phone number. Even if it's broken you could just given me the number, so I can call you when you fix it.'**

This time it was Joey's turn to answer, he took several deep breaths before replying, '**Sorry Seto. I didn't think of that, but there no way that I don't want to hear you. You have no idea how much I want to.'**

Joey kept talking with Seto. It wasn't hard. After all, Yami had made the beginning right for him, no… _for both of them_; he and Seto. Now he could go on from that. At the end of that chat, he and Seto exchanged their numbers, and he promised that he would talk to him as soon as he got his phone back.

**At the game shop:**

"Yami! You're finally here," exclaimed Yugi, as he ran excitedly toward Yami, and squeezed him in a big hug.

"Oh," cried Yami. It felt as if his eyes would pop out of his head from the tight embrace. "Easy, little one." And when Yugi let go, Yami returned Yugi's hug with a much gentler one.

"I missed you Yami," the younger brother said cheerfully. "I missed you so, so, so much," he repeated happily. They had spent a whole month away from each other.

"I missed you too." Yami smiled warmly, "O, I hope you'll like what I brought for you."

"I thought I heard Yami's voice," came an old man's voice from the other room, followed by the old man himself.

Yami lips curved into a wide smile, "Grandpa!" Yami called, going over to his grandfather to hug him, "I hope you don't hug like Yugi!"

"Oh, I was going to say the same thing, I can't afford another broken rib," the grandfather Sugoroku and Yami laughed while a little pout appeared on Yugi's face.

"How can you say that? I was spreading love?"

"When you're only 16 years old, your behaviors are naturally predictable," Yami said, patting his younger brother's head playfully.

"What?" Yugi arched one eye brow. "Only sixteen? Why do you say '_only'_? And you're what? Over fifty?!"

"No" Yami smiled playfully, "I'm speaking like a 23 year."

"What? Translation please?" Yugi said, wondering what hit his brother.

"Nothing. And I love your love spreading little one, and that's why I brought these for you." Yami gave Yugi's his bags.

"Oh, you said you brought me something."

"Yami you shouldn't have," his grandfather protested seriously. "You can barely afford your meals and apartment."

"O Grandpa, you make me sound so poor. Don't worry. I'm really fine, and I have enough money to buy what I want."

"Grandpa's right Yami," Yugi added, "there's no need to bring anything. Your coming is all what we want."

"Guys!" Yami opened his eyes wide. "Do I look homeless? Look! Things aren't the way you think. Just because I'm on a scholarship, that doesn't mean I'm penniless."

"Yami," his grandfather said, "Your brother and I are just fine. I can afford everything this house needs. I feel bad enough that I can't help you financially. you don't have to do this."

"Grandpa!" Yami said trying his best not to shout at his family, "It's not like I bought a ten thousand dollar suit or eight-hundred dollar shoes. Those are simple gifts, I was very happy buying them, and this is how you react! You're really experts at exaggerating things."

"Oh bro!" Yugi placed his hand on Yami's arm. "Don't be like that. I don't like to see you upset."

"Regardless," his grandfather added, "It's my duty to point these things out to you. You don't have to buy us anything, if you finish your studies and get a job that's another story. But for now, you still need every cent you have."

Yami waited impatiently for his grandfather to complete his speech before saying, "Correction, _you're_the mood killing expert here Grandpa." He looked at Yugi, "Sorry I didn't mean you bro." Yugi smiled, he loved Yami's sarcastic wit.

"Kids these days," their grandfather commented smiling, and shaking his head.

The family meeting was interrupted when the phone rang and Yugi answered it.

"Hello, Mutou residence," Yugi said, and waited to hear what the other person on the other end of the call wanted. He looked at Yami. "It's for you."

"Hn?" Yami started. "Who is it?"

"Don't know," Yugi whispered and gave the phone to his brother.

"Hello. Yami speaking," Yami said, wondering who might have known about his coming to his grandfather's house and called him.

"Hey Yami, you gotta help me with this crisis!" the other person said.

"Okay, Okay," Yami said before looking at his family. "I need to take this call privately."

"Why? Who's it Yami?" Yugi asked before Yami left the room, "Is he …" he didn't know how to say it, "… your boyfriend?"

"My what?" Yami laughed, "No it's just Joey."

"Oh, I didn't recognize his voice, he sounded so stressed."

"Yeah, he hasn't been himself lately." Yami said, leaving to his old room. Once reached it, he continued his talk with his friend.

"What is it Joey?"

"I hate you!" Joey's said with totally different tone.

"What's wrong with you? I came home just a few minutes ago, and you call me to tell me that you hate me."

"What did you mean by '_my what?' _when you talked to Yugi? Then you laughed at me, and you answered him _'No it's just Joey!'_ What? Am I not good enough for you?!" Joey said in a burning, angry voice.

Yami rolled his eyes, "Oh, so that's the reason behind the change of tones."

"See? You still find me ridiculous!"

"Absolutely not Joey. Now, answer this, are we lovers?"

"No," Joey answered.

"Then we're _just _friends to each other. You're just Joey to me and I'm just Yami to you. Clear?"

"So if anyone asked me, 'Who's there?' you wouldn't be mad if I say, 'It's just Yami'?!'"

"No, not at all." Yami answered happily.

"Oh there's someone at the door. I have to open it, stay with me."

"Okay," Yami agreed.

And when Joey opened the door, he greeted his visitor loudly, "Oh hello Tristan! You know what? I'm talking to Yami, but I can hang up. It's not important, because it's _just_ Yami!"

"Oh, very mature Joey!" Yami snorted.

"You're the one who said that it's okay to call you _just _Yami."

"There's NO Tristan, right?" Yami said, eyes twitching when he realized what the other was implying.

"No!" Joey answered firmly, "See? It's not okay with you."

"Joey! Don't be so dramatic and sensitive. Seto doesn't like that type of person, by the way," Yami tried to change the subject.

"Admit it. It's not okay with you." Joey insisted, he liked to hear that he was right from Yami.

"Oh Joey, you can't understand such a thing, you're _only _19!" Yami said. He liked using the word _only_,

"Like you're any different?"

"Okay, do you want my help or not?"

"As a matter of fact yes! Seto and I chatted today, and he asked for my phone number."

Yami's eyes widened and a smile played on his lips. "Oh, this is really great Joey. Talking through the phone is much better than online."

"You think so?" Joey hesitantly asked, that wasn't what he hoped to hear from Yami. That meant he was on his own.

"Yep! It means he's really serious about you guys, and wants to know you better. Phone calls are much better than chatting for revealing personalities. My opinion about him hasn't changed, he's the one Joey. Stick with him. He's really good for you."

"I don't know. What if I stumbled with words or didn't know what to say. At least when I'm behind the computer I have the time to think of what should I say, and to rethink, and if I want to change a word, I can simply delete it."

"Yes, that's right my best friend. It's easier to rethink things and hesitate, when you're chatting online, but you can't live your whole life hesitant Joe! If I were you, I'd go for it. This step's very helpful, and don't worry about not finding what to say. Just be yourself ..." Yami stopped a little before adding, "just not the over dramatic and sensitive one."

Yami could feel Joey's rage from the other end of the phone, but what could he do? He couldn't resist manipulating Joey's unstable temper.

When Joey calmed down again after an uncountable number of apologizes, Joey told Yami about the lie he'd told to Seto, and asked for Yami's help. Yami told him not to worry. He'd talk to Seto using his family's computer.

After finishing the phone call with Joey, Yami immediately went to the computer. He opened it, but he was interrupted by his little brother.

"Yami! Please don't tell me that you came all the way to keep studying! This is your vacation!"

Yami smiled, "I'm not studying. This is just something I have to do. Then I'll be all yours, okay?"

"Not studying?" Yugi asked, confused by his brother's answer. "Then what are you doing?"

"Chatting with a friend, and I want to do this alone please Yugi," Yami explained.

"That friend isn't Joey?" Yugi asked, assuming not since Joey talked to Yami five minutes ago.

"No." Yami shook his head, supporting Yugi's doubts.

"That person is a _he_?"

"Yes."

Yugi lowered his gaze, "Then he's your … you know."

Yami arched his eyebrows questioning, "Know what?"

"Your lover." Yugi said slowly.

"Oh no. No, not at all." Yami laughed, "He's Joey's friend. And by the way, I don't have a boyfriend."

"Then why don't you want me to stay?"

"Because I'm sharing Joey's secrets. He doesn't want anyone to know what it's between him and his friend but me, so I have to do this alone."

Yugi nodded in understanding, leaving the place to join his grandfather, and wait for Yami. The latter returned to the computer and found Seto online.

**'Hey Seto.' **Yami typed, thinking to himself, 'Be there … Be there … Be there …'

**'Hello Joey.'**

"Ah. You're online." Yami exclaimed happily, as he resumed typing**,**** 'You're here! I was afraid that you'd be somewhere else.'**

**'In fact, I was finishing some papers, so I can go home and have some sleep."**

Yami smiled,** 'Speaking of sleeping. I have to tell that I had a dream about you last night,' **Yami confessed and of course he was referring to his dream not to Joey's.

**'Really? So now I've become the knight of your dreams? What did I look like?' **

**'You were ok.' **Yami lied.

**'Just okay? I doubt that.'**

**'Can't blame me! I can't control my dreams.' **Yamireplied with a smug smile.

**'Too bad your dreams are pathetic. You'll have to see me in the real world. That might improve your dreams.'**

Seto was as arrogant as ever, but Yami was used to that by now. He debated whether or not to tell the other a made up nasty dream, to mess with him a little, but he changed his mind at last minute. He couldn't afford to ruin this for Joey, not after they'd exchanged numbers. And speaking of that, Yami smirked devilishly, as he wrote:

**'About my cell phone, I just brought back it. It's already fixed and I'm waiting impatiently for _someone_ to call me, to see if it works.'**

Yami then called Joey. "Hello Joey. Seto will be calling you, right about… NOW!"

8888888888888888888

End of chapter 4

Thanks for reading and commenting :)


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own Yugioh

Thanks to Blue September for editing the chapter, you are amazing.

Thanks for the many reviews I got for this story, I received 9 reviews after posting my last chapter :) Ironically this story is my least favorite between my stories, but it's the most readable one!

8888888888888 **Chapter five** 88888888888888

_Yami then called Joey. "Hello Joey. Seto will be calling you, right about… NOW!"_

"Yami wait! My lecture is about to begin, in a few seconds!"

"Can't you leave then?"

"No, the lecturer is already here."

"Umm, good luck then, bye!" Yami didn't wait for Joey to say anything. He hung up the phone immediately.

Joey gulped, not knowing what to do. The professor started the lecture and after three minutes exactly, Joey's phone started vibrating. He was very nervous and tense. What Seto would think of him if he didn't answer that call? Would he accept his excuse, especially since it was the weekend, and usually there were no lectures? Would Seto believe that Joey was in a make-up class? Not to mention, from Seto's point of view, Joey was the one who had asked him to call.

The phone was ringing, and Joey's eyes kept switching between the teacher and the phone, unable to answer it or to get out, not until the teacher caught him. "Is there a problem Mr. Wheeler?"

"Umm … as a matter of fact, there is," he started, scratching his head nervously. "I have to answer … umm this long-distance call," he pointed at his cell phone. "It's from outside the country."

"Oh, of course Mr. Wheeler. You can go," the middle-aged woman allowed.

Joey's eyes shone with hope again, "Thanks. You're a life-saver," he said, rushing happily out of the theatre.

The professor watched the boy leaving the class, blinking twice before going back to the students. "You know, if any of you has an urgent or important phone call, don't wait. Just answer it," she said, and within a few seconds, most of the students had gone. A sweatdrop formed on the teacher's face. "Democracy isn't the best policy with students," she muttered to herself.

Outside the collage building, Joey was standing holding his phone. He took one last deep breath before answering it, "H-hello?"

"Hello. Joey?"

"Yeah. Seto?" Joey asked, feeling the blood rushing through his body. He was nervous beyond description, not expecting this call would come that fast.

"Who else?" Seto answered. Joey could recognize the smug tone in his speech.

"No one. Only you," Joey said, sounding a bit cheesy. He was afraid of the awkward silence that might form between them.

"How are you?"

"Umm... I'mmmm fine."

"Are you okay?"

"Well… yeah, of course I'm okay… umm okay. Yeah, okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah… yeah."

"Are you nervous?"

"A little," Joey answered, knowing that honesty was the best option.

"Okay, why don't you relax now, and I'll call you later."

"Does this mean you're breaking up with me?" Joey asked not thinking, and not choosing his words carefully. After all, there was no relationship between them to be broken. He smacked his head at once. "I didn't mean... err"

"It's okay. I'm not breaking up with you. Actually I was going to sleep as I told you on the internet."

"Yes that's right, I told… err I mean you told me about that sleeping thing," the blonde said, feigning knowledge of the conversation.

"I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay." Joey wondered if he screwed-up his chance with Seto.

"I'm going home now, bye."

"Bye and I'm going to my class."

"Class? Aren't you alone without your friend? Besides, this is weekend. There are no classes."

"Yeah," Joey swallowed. Just when he thought he would finish his unfortunate call, another thing came up to increase his misery. "That's right, but we had an extra lecture today."

"Extra lecture? I thought you went to get your broken cell phone back."

Joey's heart skipped a beat, '_Relax Joey'_ he told himself, _'Relax …. Relax …. Relax … think! What would Yami do in a situation like this?' _

"Yeah, I got it back, before heading to the college."

"Okay then, I won't keep you any longer, besides I think my head might explode if I don't get to sleep soon."

Joey laughed, "Take care of yourself."

"You too. Bye."

"Bye," Joey said, hanging up the phone and slipping it into his pocket. "Damn it," he cursed. "He won't call again. Love and I were never meant to meet." He winced at the mere thought.

Resting his back on the building, Joey closed his eyes, sighing deeply. It hurt him to feel like that: rejected. He wished never spoken to Seto at all. It would be much easier than this humiliation. '_Maybe Yami was right,' _he thought. _'__Meeting people through the internet is indeed a mistake.' _Joey covered his face with his hands and pondered,_ 'But Yami was wrong when he said Seto was the one for me.'_

Joey's hands moved from his face to his pocket. Taking his phone again, he dialed Yami's grandfather's number and waited.

"Hello," said the one on the other end of the phone.

"Hello Yugi, how are you?"

"What do you expect? Yami is here. I'm so happy."

"Glad to hear that. Can I talk to him?"

"Yes. Wait a sec."

Joey could hear Yugi calling for his big brother, and Yami quickly came to the phone. "Hey Joey! What happened with Seto?"

"Hi Yami, listen …" Joey hadn't finished, when he heard a harsh voice behind him.

"Is this the long-distance call from another country Mr. Wheeler?"

Joey paled when he turned around to see the outraged teacher standing behind him. "Umm … no, this isn't quite what it seems."

"Really? So Mr. Mutou is in another country?"

"Umm.." Joey stared dumbly, trying to find any excuse to defend himself. The teacher pointed in the direction of the theatre. "Into your lecture! Now!" she ordered, not accepting any further explanation.

"Yes Prof. Geller," he nodded, hanging up the phone and following her.

At the game shop, Yami tried to call Joey back, but the latter didn't pick up his phone. "What do you think happened?" Yugi asked.

"I don't know. He wasn't happy. I'll try to call him later. He's probably in the lecture, and can't answer."

Meanwhile, Joey reached the lecture hall and , sat in his chair, but he didn't pay any attention to what the professor was talking about. He was in another world, thinking about the whole thing, "I'm so stupid!" he said absentmindedly, then quickly, looked around to make sure no one actually heard what he'd just had said. He waited impatiently the lecture to end, and when it did, Joey immediately took his phone out of his pocket. To his surprise, Joey saw 17 missed calls from Yami. His best friend must have been very worried. Joey called Yami who once again answered quickly.

"Hello Joe! What happened?" Yami asked, sounding anxious.

"I ruined everything Yami," Joey answered, a little depressed.

"Joey! Why do you say that?"

"I accidentally told him that I was in a lecture. He told me to go and that he'd call me later."

"I don't see anything wrong. He _will_ call you later. That's what he said."

"No Yami!" Joey retorted, not escaping the gloomy mood, "Can't you see it? This is the indirect way of breaking up, saying that he'll call me later."

"Joe," Yami started softly, "he told me himself that he wanted to have some sleep. It's not like what you think."

"You didn't hear how I talked to him Yami. I was stammering, he asked me if I was nervous!"

"Joe! Do you want me to contact him online and try to fix things?" Yami suggested. He wanted to do anything to make his friend feel better.

"No Yami," Joey shook his head. "You said it. I can't count on you every time I screw up. I can't live my life depending on you."

"So what? Screw him, he is the loser. Don't worry, I'll be your boyfriend, my offer still stands," Yami said, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Shut up," Joey answered, not liking Yami's games that moment, the last thing he wanted was pity. Joey wanted Yami to understand not to feel sorry for him. He was suffering enough. Joey ended the call and walked off the campus. He didn't want to go back to the apartment directly. There was nothing there to do, other than sitting alone, so the blonde decided to find a peaceful place first.

It was late, when Joey returned to his place. He was surprised to see the door opened. The last he'd checked, he'd closed it. Joey entered suspiciously, and to his biggest surprised, he saw Yami waiting for him excitedly. "You're late hot stuff."

Joey's mouth nearly hit the ground, "Are you insane? You cut your vacation? It was already so short! Couldn't you wait till after tomorrow?"

"No I couldn't," Yami said, smiling warmly.

"What about your family? They've waited for this visit for forever!"

"They'll understand."

"Why didn't you tell me first?"

"If I told you, you'd never agree to my coming, and I'd insist, then you'd disagree with me, then I'd disagree with your disagreement," Yami rolled his eyes, "so I've speared us that little fight over the phone."

"Whatever," Joey said tossing his jacket away to the nearest chair.

"How are you now?"

"Much better."

"If you want, we can go somewhere to have fun and forget about the world out there."

Joey didn't look at Yami, "Thanks but I'm not in the mood," he said, continuing his way to his room.

Yami followed his friend. "If he's bothering you, why don't you call him? You deserve an explanation from him."

"I don't want to sound pushy," Joey answered, lying on his bed and pulling the cover over himself.

"Joe," Yami said gently, sitting on the bed beside Joey, "do you want me to stay with you a bit longer?"

Joey smiled, he didn't expect Yami to do all that for him, but he shouldn't be surprised. That was Yami – always taking care of him. "Thanks pal, I'm better now."

Yami smiled. "Okay then, I'll leave you. Do you want me to turn off the light?"

"Yes please."

Yami strode a few steps before hearing Joey's phone ringing again, the shorter boy turned his head quickly. "Who is it?"

"It's him!" Joey said, shocked. He kept staring at his phone.

"What are you waiting for? Answer him Joe!" Yami shouted in excitement.

"Yeah," Joey said when the sense came to him, he opened his phone answering, "Hello Seto." Joey waited to hear the other then he said, "Yes." He paused once again before saying, "okay… you too, bye." Then he ended the call and looked at Yami.

"Well?" Yami asked impatiently.

The phone dropped from Joey's hand unawares. Still looking at his friend, he said, "I'm in a big trouble. Seto wants to meet me next week and I said okay!" Only then did Yami's confused face break into a big smile.

8888888888888888

End of chapter five.

AN: I posted the last chapter of my other story 'Some things change, some stay the same' by accident here in this story, that's why you got an alert in your mail for the fifth chapter of this story. I corrected that mistake immediately but some of you thought it was an update. Sorry about that ^^"


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own Yugioh

Thanks to Blue September for editing the chapter, you are amazing :)

8888888888888 **Chapter six **88888888888888

_The phone dropped from Joey's hand __unawares. Still looking at his friend, he said, "I'm in a big trouble. Seto wants to meet me next week and I said okay!" Only then did Yami's confused face break into a big smile._

"Look who's gotten himself so worked up over nothing!" the tri-color haired boy teased playfully.

"Can't blame me," Joey raised his eyebrows, defending himself. "The way he talked, I thought he wasn't interested."

"And here you thought wrong," Yami stated simply. He was very relieved to see how things turned with his friend.

"Yea," said Joey pushing the sheets away and getting up from the bed.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't know. Anywhere. Let's go and have fun." He grabbed his jacket again, putting it on before looking at Yami. "What's up? Come on."

Yami didn't move. He kept staring at his friend. "You just came back a few minutes ago!"

"And I can't stay here another minute. Are you coming or not? Anything you eat is on me."

"Wait I'm coming," he said, counting on his fingers. "I want ice cream, both vanilla and chocolate flavor, and I want cheesecake, and umm … vegetarian pizza. If you could add a non-vegetarian one too, I wouldn't mind. Don't forget about the drinks and cocktails, and of course for the entrée I want fried chicken with macaroni and noodles too, you know? You might add…"

"Hey hold on, when I said anything, I didn't mean everything! You can eat one thing."

"In that case, I want ice cream, vanilla and chocol---."

"One thing!" Joey interrupted sharply.

"Vanilla," Yami answered sheepishly before joining the blond and leaving their place.

Next Monday morning, Yami went to Joey's room to wake him up, and to his surprise Joey was already awake. Usually, Joey's alarm would go off, but the blond would simply turn it off and continue sleeping. After that Yami would spend the next half hour periodically coming into his room and trying to wake him. But that morning was totally different.

'So miracles do exist,' thought Yami, hearing the sound, of running water, from the bathroom, as he crossed Joey's bedroom. "Good morning Joey, you're up early!" Yami said sounding surprised.

"Yep! The earlier the healthier," Joey said actively, combing his hair and turning to face his friend, adding, "Seto said that. He called this morning."

Yami's shocked expression quickly faded and was replaced by a knowing grin. "He called. My efforts over the years to wake you up proved in vain, and one call of him was enough!"

"Umm… it's not like that!" Joey stuttered. He tried to hide his embarrassment. "You never said it was healthier!"

"Didn't I?" Yami asked accusingly, folding his arms over his chest. "Come on Joe. Let's go."

Joey raised a finger and pointed at him. "But you can't go like that. You haven't dressed yet."

Yami rolled his eyes, grumbling, "How ironic!"

After eating breakfast, Yami and Joey left their place, heading to the university on foot, as it wasn't far from where they lived. Along the way, Yami asked. "So what did you two talk about?"

"We decided to meet each other next Saturday."

"Saturday? Why?"

"I didn't want him to think that was too eager. I told him I had a busy schedule this week, so I wouldn't be able to see him. I said that Saturday is my busiest day, since it's when I usually do all my homework, but I'd reschedule everything, just for him."

"_That_ didn't sound eager at all," Yami said sarcastically, laughing.

"What?" Joey asked nervously and stopped walking. "Where did I go wrong?" Had he messed up?

Yami stopped laughing. "Nothing's wrong," he said amused, and grabbed Joey's arm, forcing him to continue walking. "It's not shameful or wrong to tell him that you want to see him soon or that you miss him."

"Yeah, that too," Joey agreed. There was another thing on his mind that had pushed him to delay the date. "To tell the truth I'm a bit nervous about this meeting."

"Stop worrying. You have nothing to lose. All you have to do is to meet the guy and then you'll have to decide what the best thing is to do next; to continue or to stop."

"I guess you're right, but I don't want to stop."

" Let's hope so," Yami said smiling.

"What do you think I should wear?" Joey asked suddenly.

"I don't know. If you like you can borrow some clothes from me!" Yami suggested, feeling clothes shouldn't have to be a problem. Joey wasn't going to meet the president after all. Anything would be fine.

"Oh, like I could find anything suitable from your clothes!" Joey scoffed.

"Why?" Yami snapped. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing, but they're either leather or leather, not to mention too small!"

"Are you saying that I'm short?" Yami asked gasping.

"You're saying it not me."

"Arrr," Yami murmured, gritting on his teeth. "Fine. Maybe I won't help you then."

"No, no, please help me," Joey quickly backpedaled, realizing what Yami was saying.

"Why don't you wear your normal clothes?" Yami asked, sighing. That way Joey would feel like himself too.

"I don't know. I was thinking of wearing a suit," Joey said and Yami chuckled. "What?" the blond asked defensively.

The other couldn't help but to continue laughing. "If you insist on wearing suit, why don't you wear your birthday suit for him? Knowing him, he'd surely love the idea."

"You little…" Joey sputtered, red faced, looking about ready to choke his friend. "How cheap do you think I am to let him into my pants from the first meeting?"

"Well… considering how soon you wanted to profess your love for him. I mean when he just said, 'Hi,' you jumped to say 'I love you,' that's—" Yami trailed off when he saw the serious death glare from the other's sharp eyes. "Relax Joe! I was kidding," Yami said, raising his hands defensively. "I just don't think suits are his thing. Where is he going to take you anyway?"

"To the Castle."

"Then you should definitely wear a suit," Yami said, changing his mind immediately. The Castle was one of the finest and classiest restaurants in the country. He wasn't expecting that from Seto, but it was nice way for him to show that he was interested. Sure if Seto had asked to the blond to a less extravagant restaurant it would have been okay, but this was clearly meant to show Joey that he didn't care about money when it came to him.

"So it's a suit then?" Joey asked and Yami nodded, hooking his arm in Joey's.

Smiling happily, he teased. "We should hurry, so we won't be late for the lecture. I bet Prof. Geller won't be patient with you, like before."

"Don't remind me!" the blond growled as they continued on their way to the campus.

The stressful week had finally ended, and Yami and Joey went to buy a suit for the blond. He was having trouble deciding between a black and a gray suit in the first shop. Yami suggested he choose the black one, grabbing a pale yellow shirt and a dark blue tie for him to wear with it. Joey agreed to try the mix of clothes. He went to the changing room and when he finished he called Yami. Still looking at the mirror, he asked, "How do I look?"

"Dazzling!" Yami said winking.

"Then I'll take it," Joey said and the clerk was more than happy to wrap the clothes for him, putting them in a bag.

Saturday had come and Joey had dressed from morning. He didn't want to be late or anything, as his date with Seto was a lunch. He didn't eat breakfast with Yami afraid of messing up his new suit.

"Relax Joe!" Yami said yawing. "You'll tear your jacket if you keep fidgeting like that."

"Arrr, the time is passing too slow!" Joey said, walking across the room.

"You know, they say waiting is the hardest part."

"Thanks for reminding me," Joey said sounding a bit angry.

"Cheer up, there's no need to get grumpy, or you'll pop a vein in your neck." Yami prepared some coffee, he carried his mug over, offering it to Joey. "Here, want some?"

"No," Joey said venomously.

"If you keep acting like this, you'll have a heart attack before your date," Yami said, sipping some of his hot drink peacefully before placing it in on their kitchen table. "All you have to do is to be yourself. Don't overreact. It's okay to tell him that he's cute, nice, sexy, hot, or something like that but don't over flatter him."

"How am I supposed to tell him all that stuff and no over flatter him?"

"Well, as long as you maintain personal dignity and don't make a fool of yourself, then you're not over flattering. Don't make him feel that you're any less than he is, but don't over flatter yourself as well. Listen to what he says attentively. Don't interrupt him suddenly and when he asks you something answer without hesitation."

"Really?" Joey asked, unsure if he could do that correctly or not, but he had nothing to do except to leave everything to destiny.

"Really," Yami answered, smiling confidently, taking another sip.

"Should I kiss him?"

"Umm … kiss?" Yami heaved a sigh, rubbing his chin lightly with his index. He raised his eyebrows wrinkling _his_ brow, falling silent for a moment, as if lost in thought. "Hmm, don't kiss him, wait for him to make that move. If he starts getting really close to you then go for it. I don't recommend you start it. You don't know what he'll think of you."

"Okay," Joey nodded. "I think I have to go."

"Good luck," Yami said, grinning. He put his cup down and helped Joey to adjust his tie correctly. "There! That's better."

"Yeah thanks."

"You're welcome," the shorter teen said, waving goodbye.

After leaving the apartment, Joey hailed a taxi to take him to the restaurant. As it came into view, he was amazed by its magnificence. Exiting the vehicle, he stood for a moment, simply gaping.

"Wow!" he said, mouth hanging inches from the floor.

Within the boundaries of a low wall, accented with well pruned hedges, was a beautiful stone structure. Soft wash lighting along its base highlighted its medieval features. The building itself was surrounded by what could be called a moat, but the waters were crystal clear, and Joey could see several fish swimming in their depths. When he came back to his senses he crossed the wooden bridge to the front door, and was greeted by the maître'd.

"Welcome, sir!" he said smiling, dressed in a clean cut black tuxedo and white dress shirt.

"Umm … thanks," Joey managed to say trying not to look out of place. "I have a reservation under the name Seto."

"This way, sir," said the man, gesturing with his hand and Joey followed taking the opportunity to look around. The inside was more brightly lit than Joey imagined any medieval castle might have been, several crystal chandeliers hanging in the rather busy dining room. They had clearly had more modern influences, when it came to decorating, although, a few finely polished suits of armor and well placed tapestries helped to tie the inside and outside together.

Joey noted that the man was actually leading him around the dining room towards a door in the back. The maître'd held the door open for him and he went through into a quiet, dimly lit hallway. "This way," he said, and continued on, not bothering to see if Joey followed. They walked until they stopped in front of an open door that led to a large room. "Here," he gestured, bowing lightly.

"Here?" Joeys asked arching his eyebrow. "This place is empty."

The waiter smiled politely. "No sir, I meant the whole room has been reserved for you."

Joey couldn't hide the slight surprise that spread over his face. "Oh thank you," he said.

Once the man had gone, Joey hesitantly crossed the room, and stood in the middle, staring at the walls that were covered with beautiful paintings. This room too was not as brightly lit as the dining room had been. The lights on the lone chandelier had been dimmed and the room's only other light sources were a single candle on the small dining table and a brightly burning fire in the fireplace. In front of the fireplace were a comfortable looking loveseat and a coffee table.

Joey took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. The whole night had been a big surprise for him, and he took a moment to collect himself. He lost himself in his thoughts, until he heard voices from outside the room.

"This way sir," said a voice Joey recognized as man who had led him there. Joey hadn't thought there could be any more surprises after seeing the fancy restaurant, and the private dining room, but all that changed the moment the door opened to reveal his date. He froze, only three words escaping from his semi-paralyzed mouth. "OH. MY. GOD!!"

8888888888888888

End of chapter five. Let me know what you think so far :)


	7. Chapter 7

YES! A new chapter ... but first; Thanks, really thanks to Blue September for editing this chapter :)

I don't own Yugioh

* * *

"Oh. My. God." That was all that Joey could say. That man was the last person on Earth, after even the Emperor of China, that he thought would come through the door.

That man was _Seto Kaiba!_

Yes! The owner of the famous gaming company, Kaiba Corporation; the richest man in the country; the most powerful man, as well; the most intelligent and not to mention, the sexiest businessman the blond had ever known or seen.

_Stop it_, Joey told himself. _You're not helping. No need to magnify him._

_I bet he's great in bed,_ his brain supplied, defying his orders. _He probably has the nicest---_

_"Arrr,"_ Joey gritted his teeth, from the torrent of thoughts. He wanted to smack himself hard, but Kaiba suddenly turned around, having nodded off the waiter.

The brown haired man eyed Joey from head to toe, and back up, a satisfied smirk carving its way onto his pale face.

"At last, Joey?" Kaiba took in the look of amazement he expected to be on the other's face, with amusement. He took a few steps further into the room until he was standing in front of Joey.

"Seto Kaiba," he introduced himself professionally, offering his hand. "But by the look on your face I guess you knew that already," he added, smiling smugly.

Joey swallowed hard before opening his mouth, collecting whatever confidence left inside of him. He shook the other man's hand. "Jo … Joey Wheeler," the blond stuttered, before deciding to continue, "and by the look on your face, I guess you didn't know that already."

Some of Yami's words hit the blond._ Don't make him think any less of you._

_Damn it, _Joey cursed mentally, for screwing this one up.

The two boys took their seats beside each other, as another waiter knocked, on the door before coming into the room, and nodding politely. "Welcome gentlemen. I'm Jack and I'll be your waiter today."

He handed Kaiba a menu from the nicely woven basket he was carrying, and Kaiba took a few minutes to look over it. In the mean time, Joey tried his best to hide the slight trembling in his hands. He was relieved to have his date distracted by something else, so that he could gather his thoughts. His heart was still beating so fast.

Joey took several deep breaths. _Relax Joey! Relax,_ he told himself. _I__t's not like he has something you don't. We both have two eyes, one nose, two legs, plenty of hair. It's not like he has a monkey tail between his legs hidden behind his trench coat!_ _Or does he? how can he wear his--_ Joey raised an eyebrow at that thought. _B__ad thought Joey! Bad! Just stick with what Yami told you and you'll be just fine._

"What would you like to have, sir?" the waiter asked, choosing to focus his attention on the clearly wealthier male.

"I haven't decided yet. Have you Joey?" Kaiba asked still looking at the menu.

The waiter looked to Joey who gulped. "Water?" he asked truthfully. Joey's throat was dry from the constant surprises that day. One more surprise and he would lose his sanity for sure.

"It's right here, sir," the waiter drawled, pointing at the glass of water already in front of him. Joey felt so stupid and disconcerted. How hadn't he noticed the water beside him? _Calm Joey... calm down,_ he told himself. _T__hings like these happen on every date. Just focus on what to do next. Don't let this affect your confidence_. "Thanks," he said to the waiter, trying his best to keep smiling, despite feeling the sweat running down his ear.

"You thirsty?" Kaiba glanced at Joey after putting the menu aside.

"It's just getting so hot here," Joey explained, fanning his face with one hand, and pouring a glass of water with the other.

"I can understand that," Kaiba smirked before shifting his gaze to the waiter. "You can bring me Coq Au Vin with rice and steamed green beans and cucumber salad."

The waiter nodded and looked at Joey. "And you sir?"

"The same," Joey answered quickly, too abashed to tell that he hadn't looked at his menu at all. His easiest option was to follow Kaiba. The waiter nodded, bowing lightly and went to deliver the order.

"So you like Coq au Vin?" Kaiba asked once they were alone.

"Yeah, it's delicious. I ate it with Yami lots a' times," Joey lied. He had no idea what the food was. Yami's words clicked inside his head again. _A__ll you have to do is to be yourself. _But Joey let it slide this time. He didn't want to make a fool of himself by asking Kaiba what was the thing really was. It had to be something edible after all. He didn't want to look completely out of place either, so one white lie wouldn't hurt.

"Mmm," Kaiba said amused. "Not only here, fried bull penises are a really famous dish in Mexico as well. If I remember correctly, the Spanish say 'Como tu comes, tu eres' which means," he winked, "'You are what you eat.'"

Joey's face paled when he realized what he was about to eat. There would be no way for him to put that _thing_ in his mouth. He had to change the order, but didn't know how. The blond swallowed, while his utterly, bewildered eyes were held fast, by the brunette's steady and conceited gaze.

"Hmm… you know... um," Joey scratched his head in a hopeless attempt to find what to say, when Kaiba cut him off with a mad laugh that startled Joey.

"Relax! It's just chicken with vegetables, nothing strange."

Joey's face turned scarlet and his heart beat wildly, from the extensive shame. Kaiba had caught his lie with ease, leaving him very uncomfortable.

"You sounded so uptight and quieter than usual," Kaiba said, a bit seriously. "That's why I wanted to loosen you up and mess with you a little." He laced his fingers together, resting his elbows on the table and smiled smugly. "On the other hand, it's good to know that you have confidence in my choice. Personally, I recommend this dish. My little brother loves it too. It's simple, but tasty. You'll see," Kaiba explained and Joey nodded dumbly.

"So what are you studying? You didn't tell me before," the brunette continued talking, hoping the other boy would respond more freely.

"History."

"Hmm, I bet you like this place then?"

"Yeah it's super terrific and great … it's ... it's so fantastic," Joey stuttered. He stopped suddenly, remembering Yami's words. _Don't over flatter him. _He coughed and corrected himself. "I mean it's okay."

"A few things are modern though, like food." Kaiba said, gesturing at the menu.

"And the waiters," Joey added.

"Really? I didn't notice. I must have been distracted by something stronger," Kaiba said, studying Joey's face and body.

It made Joey blush, saying, "Come on, you probably come to this place all the time."

"Yes, but it's not like everything I see is worth remembering," Kaiba shrugged haughtily.

Joey felt awkward receiving a complement like that. A thought crossed his mind. Why hadn't he told Kaiba his reason for studying history? Maybe then, things wouldn't have gotten to this point. Joey had loved history since high school. He'd loved what the teachers always told them about ancient lives, about pharaohs, Roman fighters, emperors, myths and legends etcetera. He'd always found those things so interesting despite what his classmates might have thought. Now it was too late to change the subject back to that. The blond wanted to talk about his passion for his major, not only to let Kaiba know more about him, but also to help pass the time, which felt as if it was crawling by. He only hoped that Kaiba wasn't feeling the same way. He wished that the food would come quickly, and at the mere thought of that, his stomach started growling loudly. He hadn't been prepared for something like that and felt beyond humiliated.

"Sorry, I didn't eat anything today," he said looking down.

"It's okay. The food will be ready soon," Kaiba assured

"Yami insisted that I need to eat something, but I was too distracted to put anything in my mouth."

"Yami?"

"Yeah, my roommate."

"Yeah, I remember him. The one who told you that I'm the one," Kaiba said mockingly. It sounded even more ridiculous when he said it out loud.

"Yep," Joey said, trying to make the other take what he said more seriously. "Don't be like that. Yami's great. He really knows how to read people, and he's got a great personality. It's just easy for people to open up to him."

"Really. So you've opened yourself up to him too?"

"No need for that. He's my best friend and he knows me better than I know myself. Don't misunderstand me. There is nothing more than friendship between us." Joey paused, but when he saw his date was waiting for him to continue, he added, "Yami could have anyone in the world. He can make a straight guy fall for him, married woman, married man, or anybody. You can't even imagine how beautiful he is, and not just on the outside. He's caring about his family and friends. He got a full scholarship so his grandfather wouldn't have to for pay anything, which is why he doesn't want to be in a relationship right now. He doesn't want to be distracted from his studies." Joey decided to stop ranting about his friend, realizing that he had perhaps said too much.

"Okay," Kaiba sighed. "Now I know your friend's life story and nothing about you," he pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah," the blond replied, smiling hesitantly. He had obviously forgotten to mention anything about himself, which made him look pathetic. "I study history … yep! Sorry you know that already --- but you don't know that Yami and I go to the same university." The blond blushed. That was pathetic even to his ears.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about yourself. I won't push you on that. I know that the first date must be tough," Kaiba said, trying to relieve the opposite boy's tension. On the other hand, Joey prayed for a miracle to save him from the situation, and his prayers were answered when the food arrived.

Jack served Kaiba first, then Joey. He bowed respectfully after finishing his job. "Do you require anything else?"

"No," Kaiba said looking at Joey to see if the shorter boy wanted something.

"No thanks," Joey said.

"Yes sirs. Enjoy yourselves." The man bowed again before leaving the room.

Kaiba picked up his fork, and tried a bite from his plate. Joey observed him, wondering what the man might think of him after this date. He probably wouldn't ask him again out, but Joey decided that he would continue trying. After all, the worst he could do was stumble over a few words, right? He kept staring until Kaiba looked back at him. Joey smiled quickly, and Kaiba returned it before leaning towards Joey.

_This is it _Joey thought_. Those are the signs; the smile, the long silence before moving closer to me. He wants to kiss me now. He wasn't annoyed at all. _

Joey closed his eyes, puckering his lips and leaning closer to Kaiba. He waited, but then opened his eyes, when he didn't feel any lips over his to see Kaiba staring at him strangely.

"I was trying to grab the salt," Kaiba explained, holding the salt shaker that was in the middle of the table.

That was too much for Joey to handle. His face turned beet red from humiliation. Did the man just reject him or what? "Sor … sorry … I … I …. Thought you … that … that you … you wanted to kiss me," he said not knowing where look.

"I do want to kiss you," Kaiba said prosaically, but it was clear he was telling Joey that out of pity, and to make him feel better.

The blond began to feel lightheaded and dizzy. "Excuse me! Can I pass out now?" he asked before dropping face-first into the saucy, red dish.

"Joey!" Kaiba said, eyes widening at the sight. He hadn't expected his date to faint on their first date.

Four hours later, Joey began opening his eyes slowly. He blinked couple of times, before regaining his full senses, and looked around. "Where am I?" he wondered aloud. He was in a very classy looking room, but not the one in the restaurant. The thought that he might have died and gone to heaven crossed his mind.

"You're at my house."

Joey looked to see who had spoken to him. It was Seto Kaiba. So he was in the home of the richest man in the country, the man in front of whom he had so embarrassed himself, the one who had offered to kiss him out of pity. Rather than facing the man, the blond chose to close his eyes letting himself to be taken by the darkness once again.

"Will he stop doing that?" said Kaiba's little bother, Mokuba, who was sitting beside his brother, vexed by the unstoppable fainting. "This is getting annoying. Is this the one you told me about?"

Kaiba didn't answer. He just kept staring intensely at the unconscious boy in the bed.

* * *

tbc

Please tell me what you think so far :)


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks, really thanks to Blue September for editing this chapter :) you're really really amazing ^^

I don't own Yugioh

* * *

"I'm coming. I'm coming!" Yami yelled through a yawn, when he heard a continuous ringing at the door. He knew it had to be Joey. It was late; past one in the morning. Yami had waited for the blond until eleven, before he'd finally given up and gone to sleep. He hadn't wanted to call and ruin the date, especially if Joey and Seto were in the middle of _something_. And by the look of the time they'd spent, Yami assumed that the date had gone very well.

"Welcome home Joe," Yami said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "How was your date?"

"Better now," Joey answered getting inside. He took off the suit jacket and loosened his tie, before settling on the couch. Grabbing the remote control, he turned on the TV and starting flipping through channels.

Yami sat beside him. "What do you mean?"

"We broke up," Joey said casually, without looking at Yami. He flipped through a few more channels.

"What?" Yami almost shouted, all traces of sleep flying away.

"Don't worry," said Joey, turning his attention to Yami. "I'm happy with how things turned out."

"What took you so long to come home then? Did you go somewhere before deciding what to do?" Yami asked, unaware that he had absently started massaging the blond's shoulder, to comfort him.

"No actually, I was at his house the whole time. I mean after leaving the restaurant."

"His house?" Yami said, his eyebrows knitting together, having gotten the wrong idea. "How dare he? Did he sleep with you then end it? This is why you shouldn't trust guys from the internet Joey!"

"No, no. He didn't even _kiss_ me!"

"Then stop telling me pieces of puzzle. Tell me what happened?"

"I just realized that I couldn't be Seto _Kaiba's_ lover. That's simply it."

"What?" Yami asked wondering if he'd heard the other right, or if he was actually still asleep and dreaming.

"You heard me. He was Seto Kaiba. The owner of Kaiba corp. The one we always see on TV!"

Yami immediately pinched Joey's hand. "Ouch, that hurts. Geez! What's wrong with you Yami?" the blond asked rubbing his now red hand.

"Okay, now I'm sure that I'm not sleeping. I've gotta tell you it's not wise to drink so much. You have to wake up early tomorrow, to do your research."

"I didn't drink anything. I'm telling you this with complete sanity. Seto from the Internet IS Seto Kaiba in real life. You're not sleeping, and I wasn't hallucinating."

"What?" Yami whispered, falling into silence, once he had accepted the idea.

"Yeah, and I made a complete fool out of myself in front of him. Really, I'm thankful that this relationship was over before it got started."

They sat quietly for a moment, Yami mulling over his Joey's words, before he decided to break the silence. "I'm sorry Joe," he said, but he failed to find the right words. He couldn't quite believe what had happened yet, and for that reason he couldn't give Joey his usual pep talk.

"Don't worry. I'm fine," Joey said, smiling.

"Tell me what happened?"

Joey blushed a bit as he recalled the events of the previous day. "If you want me to feel better, don't ask me that question."

"Joey, I need to understand. Even if it was Seto Kaiba, why it didn't work between you?"

"It's me. I don't know how to say it. Okay, I'll tell you what happened, but promise me that no one else in the world will know about this other than you," Joey said and Yami nodded quickly.

The blond began telling how his date had gone, with few details; just enough for Yami to understand. He avoided making eye contact with his friend, so Yami wouldn't see the embarrassment and the disappointment in his hazel eyes.

When Joey had finished the story of his unfortunate little adventure, he expected Yami to be rolling on the floor laughing. Then, naturally, Joey would get angry and as with most of their arguments, Yami would try to rectify the situation and apologize immediately. Or he would remind him that he'd warned him about internet dating. But contrary to that, Yami didn't seem to find it funny at all. If Joey hadn't known any better, he would have thought that the tri-color haired boy was as hurt as he was.

"Don't worry Joe. You can't change what happened but you didn't screw it up completely. You can learn from your mistakes for the future. This was your first shot online. Some bad luck is to be expected," Yami said in a serious tone. He knew how much this relationship meant to the other who had had high hopes for it.

"Yeah. You're right," Joey agreed, but deep inside he just didn't want to argue about it. No one knew better than he did that it wasn't just 'some bad luck'. Still he was grateful to Yami, for trying cheering him up.

"So what are you going to do next?"

"Find another one … online. But on my own this time---"

"Joe, haven't you learned anything?" Yami cut him off, protesting. When he'd told Joey to learn from his mistakes, he definitely didn't mean to repeat them. "Look what happened this time. It didn't work out, because you were surprised more than not prepared."

"Don't worry, I'll update my profile and say, 'If you're celebrity you better tell me before we meet.' How about that?"

Yami shook his head. "I still don't get it. Why would Seto Kaiba use an online dating service? What did he tell you Joey?"

Joey blinked couple of times before saying, "Actually, I didn't ask him that question."

"What? Joey! That was the important question you could have asked. You have the right to some explanations. How dare he not tell you, to begin with?" Yami said, a bit vexed.

"Don't know!" Joey shrugged, as he gave up on finding anything to watch on TV. He turned it off and got up. "Regardless, it's over now. Let's get some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow."

Early the next day, as always, Yami was the first to rise and he tried to wake Joey. Unfortunately, Joey seemed to be even more lethargic than usual. He decided to let him sleep, knowing that the taller man probably hadn't fallen asleep immediately, when he'd gone to bed. In the meantime, Yami wanted to download some lectures from the university website, so he went and sat behind the computer. He was surprised to find that the internet browser was already opened to the chatroom. Yami realized that Joey must have returned there after making him believe that he was asleep. That was why it was harder for him to get him up that morning. He sighed, deciding not to bring the subject up when the blond awoke, or even protest. He'd just leave him to do whatever he'd like.

Yami minimized the open pages, and opened a new window for himself. He went to the university site and began searching for the right lectures, when suddenly a message came from one of Joey's pages.

"**Hello,**" the message read. Yami figured it must have been someone Joey had been speaking to last night. Out of a habit, when he was chatting with Seto, he clicked on the message to see from whom it had come. Yami regretted it immediately, knowing that he had invaded his friend privacy, so he decided to minimize the message once again. However, when he started to do so, he was amazed to find that the sender was _Seto_. He was angry with him. Because he had hidden his identity like that, he'd put Joey in that awful situation. Also, he had to admit, he was curious about the answer to the question that Joey couldn't bring himself to ask.

**"Hello," **Yami typed back.

**"How are you?"**

Yami was surprised at his insolence. After that stressful date, how dare he ask him such a thing.** "I think you know that."**

**"No actually, I don't."**

**"Why didn't you tell me that you're Seto Kaiba from the beginning?" **Yami asked, choosing to skip unnecessary pleasantries.

"**You didn't ask.**"

**"Now it's my fault? I can't believe you!" **Yami replied, gruffly, obviously irritated.

**"You weren't mad on the date!"**

**"That's not an answer." **

**"I think it is."**

**"I don't understand. Why would someone like you want to date virtually?" **Yami sent the message and hoped the other would stop playing around and give him a straight answer.

**"You didn't ask me that yesterday!"**

Yami sighed deeply, knowing that he wouldn't get anything this way. Kaiba was a business man after all, and double-speaking was his specialty. Deciding to end the conversation and resume what he had started when he'd sat before the computer, he wrote, **"What difference does it make now? It's over between us."**

The next message was utterly unexpected. He almost had a heart attack when he read Seto's answer.

**"It's over between me and Joey, not between me and you …. Yami"**

* * *

tbc

AN1: Please tell me what you think so far.

AN2: Another thing, in the 6th chapter, the restaurant description details were written entirely by my sweet beta reader Blue September, I forgot to mention that twice, in the 6th and the 7th chapter. So please thank her too, because if it wasn't to her, this story won't be posted at all ... thanks Blue :)

AN3: I was planning on not posting this chapter this early because I didn't write the next one, so when I will post the 9th chapter, I hoped that there won't be that big gap in time between the 8th and the 9th chapters. So yeah, it'll be a while before the next chapter, but I've started writing it.

Again, thanks JollyBigSis, you've changed my mind ;)


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I had to re-upload this chapter because I've posted the non-edted version, sorry about that.**

I don't own Yugioh

Thanks to Blue September for editing this chapter :)

The bold font is for the chat between Seto and Yami.

Chapter 9

**

* * *

**

_**"It's over between me and Joey, not between me and you …. Yami"**_

"Whah?" Yami whispered in disbelief. Of all answers he was expecting, that one certainly wasn't one of them. He kept reading the message over and over. Stunned, it took him some time to recover from the shock. _Is this real?_ _How did this happen? _He asked himself repeatedly, but he had no answer.

**"I'll take it from your silence that my guess was right," **read the next message from Seto.

Yami hated to lie and say no, but he was still a bit taken by surprise. How had Kaiba figured it out? No wonder he was so successful, although Yami would never tell him that. His ego was big enough as it was. He tried to find something to say; anything, but he failed. Finally, a third message popped up from Kaiba**.**

**"You know saying nothing just further proves my theory?"**

Kaiba wanted Yami to say something; to confirm, to deny. Instead, he felt like he was talking to himself.

Finally, Yami responded, trying to write carefully but truthfully. He wondered if Joey would be hurt if Kaiba knew the truth. Yami assumed he wouldn't, since the relationship between them had ended.

Once again placing his fingers on the keyboard, he typed,** "I just wonder what makes you think that?"**

**"It's a no brainier." **

**"And if tell you that I am Joey?"**

**"You're not," **Kaiba wrote simply**. **

**"How do you know?"**

**"It's obvious that I was talking to two people. One of them was afraid, embarrassed, and kept trying to calculate every move he made. The other was… _is_ something else. He's angry with me now, sort of defiant… You could say he's everything Joey isn't…"**

Yami finally smiled, not because of what Kaiba had said about him, but at the irony of the situation. How could he not have seen that coming? He and Joey had two completely different personalities. It would be easy for a third person to catch the differences. His face suddenly went from amused to angry again, when he read the rest of the message.

**"But given that you're only 18 years old, making such obvious errors is to be expected."**

**"I'm 19 not 18!"** Yami typed quickly, he wondered why Seto had to blame everything on his age!

**"Alight! Aren't we moody today? Then stop denying that you're Yami."**

Yami sighed, giving in. Seto had him trapped and there was no use delaying the inevitable. He wrote,** "Okay! I'm not denying anything. But how did you know it was me, Yami, and not someone else?"**

**"That was lucky guess… Joey said that you're the only one living with him and you sometimes read what we talk about. Guessing all it was and I _guess _it's a game you're not good at."**

"Shut up," Yami said to himself, rolling his eyes at Seto's usual arrogance. He wouldn't let it affect his own confidence, though, so he typed, "**Well, I only wanted to help Joey and that's it. When it's over with him, it's over with me."**

**"It's not over. You were talking with me the whole time; or rather I was talking to you the whole time but ending up meeting your friend."**

**"I know it's a little unfair to you, but I never meant to hurt either of you." **It was true. Yami hadn't intended to hurt Kaiba before, but he certainly didn't want to hurt Joey by chatting with Kaiba, behind his back _now_. He knew that might upset the blond. He didn't want Joey thinking that he been trying to get Seto for himself. The blond had a wild imagination and he wouldn't put it past him to think that Yami had purposely sabotaged him or something.

**"Not meaning to hurt me and not revealing the truth are two different things." **

**"Look, I'm sorry. Consider this attempt an unfortunate mistake. Move on and find someone else," **Yami typed back, surprised at himself. He usually gave Joey quite the opposite advice, when it came to internet dating. Regardless, he knew that he needed to end the conversation.

**"Why should I? I've never said that this was unfortunate, have I?"**

**"Listen! As I said, I was only helping my friend. _That's it_." **

**"A friend who's afraid to take a step without instructions from you."**

**"Don't say that about Joe. You don't know him," **Yami wrote, clearly upset. How dare Kaiba say such a thing about Joey? In his opinion, Kaiba was the source of all of Joey's suffering.

**"That's right! You've said it yourself. I don't know Joey, because I only know you," **Kaiba replied, and Yami's eyes widened when he read it. It seemed as if he'd fallen right into Kaiba's trap. He couldn't really accuse Kaiba of doing anything to Joey since he hadn't really even gotten the chance to get to know him.

**"I'm not interested," **Yami typed back before adding,** "Sorry." **He wondered why he kept apologizing. Deep down inside, he supposed he knew that they'd manipulated Seto a bit, but they hadn't meant anything bad.

**"Is it because of school and your scholarship?"**

"Oh, Joey must have said something," Yami guessed, otherwise Kaiba wouldn't know about such a thing. Uncomfortable with the topic, Yami wrote, **"Sorry again. That's not up for discussion. Have a nice day. Bye." **

With that Yami closed that page and shut down the computer. He sighed deeply when the screen went black. The idea of engaging with any relationship wasn't even on his mind. And even if he was, it would never be with Seto. Yami couldn't do that to Joey.

Leaning down and resting his forehead on the keyboard in front of him, Yami closed his eyes trying to clear his mind. It had all been so sudden, Kaiba coming at him like that, out of the blue. But why he should care? He remained like that for several peaceful moments until he felt a finger poking his shoulder. Startled he raised his head and quickly turned around.

"Sorry man, I didn't mean to scare you," Joey said, quickly pulling his hand back. "I saw you lying like that and I thought that you were asleep. I only wanted to tell you to lie on your bed. Look at yourself; the keyboard's marked your face."

"It's okay Joe," Yami breathed softly. "I was distracted for a while. That's it."

"Man! You look so tired. When did you get up?"

"Not too early."

"Really? What did you eat for breakfast?"

"Nothing," Yami answered, shaking his head. "I was waiting for you."

"Good, let's make something to eat, 'cause I'm starving. I didn't eat anything yesterday."

Yami smiled and nodded. It was a relief for him to see Joey acting like himself again. He got up and followed him to the kitchen, where they prepared their usual breakfast, sat at the table, facing each other, and ate quietly.

"Oh... I've missed you so much old pal," Joey said suddenly. Yami thought that he was talking to him, but when he glanced at the blond he saw him talking to his little piece of bread before shoving it into his mouth.

The shorter boy laughed. "Joe! It's only been a day since you've eaten."

"And it's criminal! I should always be in my best shape."

"One day won't hurt," Yami said shrugging, as he took his own slice of bread from the plate.

"One day from hell you mean," Joey corrected. "But to tell the truth, I'm not that disappointed. The paparazzi would go wild to hear a story like this. Who would guess that I've dated Seto Kaiba?"

"Minus the details of course," Yami teased.

Joey grimaced. "Man! Why do you have to be such a killjoy? I'm trying not to be so negative."

"Yes, you are," Yami encouraged, smiling, but that smile was soon replaced by a playful smirk. "Is that why I saw the chatroom open again today?"

"Ah, a... aa... about that..." Joey stuttered, knowing that Yami wouldn't like the idea of him returning to the internet. But Joey hadn't any other choice. He just wanted to make Yami understand.

"I'm glad that you've decided to get over Seto and start again," Yami cut him off, as if he'd read his mind. Joey was surprised to say the least.

"Yeah, you're right, there's nothing to do about the past, why should I stay attached to it," Joey said, taking another bite of his jam covered toast.

"That's the spirit," Yami cheered, taking a sip of his drink.

"Anyway, he wasn't really talking to me in the first place. Why should I care if it's over or not? Technically, he was dating you and not me," Joey said casually, not expecting his words to have much of an effect. That was until he felt something warm dripping down his face. Joey looked astonished, at Yami who had spat his tea all over him and was now choking on what little had gone down the wrong way.

"Are you okay Yami?" Joey asked, trying to figure out if he had said something wrong. He was just trying to explain to Yami that he was fine without Kaiba.

"Yeah, I'm..." Yami coughed more. "I'm fine Joey."

"I know that you didn't like me online dating. I didn't mean to say it to you like that," Joey apologized.

"No, no Joey. I had something stuck in my throat. That's all," Yami explained, after a few more coughs.

"Oh, then here, drink some water," Joey said, handing the glass of water to Yami.

"Thank you," Yami said after finishing his glass, returning it to the table and feeling relieved when his breathing returned to normal.

"Better now?" Joey checked carefully.

"Yes, don't worry," Yami assured. "So what happened when I left you last night? Did you meet someone?" he asked to show his friend that he wasn't affected by what Joey had told him earlier.

"Well, I talked with a guy. His name is Ron, but he's not from Japan, and neither of us can leave our homes to be with each other. Too bad. He was nice." Joey kept ranting about the guy he talked with, and Yami listened absent-mindedly. He was thinking about what Joey had said to him, comparing it to what Kaiba said.

"So, I decided not to keep talking with him," Joey finished.

"Yeah. Right," Yami agreed, to whatever Joey was talking about. Then he got up from his chair. "I have to study now Joey. I'll wash the dishes later."

"Don't worry about that. I'll wash them. Go and study."

Yami nodded and went to his room. When he got there, he laid back on the bed, resting his head on his arms.

_"I don't know Joey because I only know you."_

"Damn it!" Yami cursed, not knowing why Kaiba's words wouldn't leave him. He looked at the clock beside him and grabbed it.

"Ah Yami!" Joey popped into the doorway, startling Yami once again and causing him to drop the clock on the floor. "What's wrong with you today?" Joey asked as he walked further into the room.

"Nothing Joe."

"No really, when you say it like this, it means there is something."

"I'm really fine Joey," Yami said picking the clock up from the floor, intending to place it on the nightstand, only to have it slip from his hands again.

"Yami! You've started worrying me."

"I'm okay. I'm just stressed about school and stuff," Yami lied. He didn't want to, but there was no other choice.

"Oh, why didn't you say that from the start? I thought that something bad happened to you or your family and you were trying not to worry me."

"No, my family and I are fine. Did you want anything when you came in?"

"Ah yes, I wanted to know if you want to use the computer now, because if not, I'm gonna use it."

"No. I don't want it."

"Okay then, if you need me, you know where to find me," Joey said, winking, before leaving to the room.

"Yeah, good luck," Yami answered quietly, not sure if the other had heard him or not. And then it hit him. What if Kaiba spoke with Joey, thinking that he was Yami, once Joey logged back into the chatroom? His heart sank even more. How would he explain to Joey that he had nothing to do with Kaiba? He kept thinking and praying that if that situation came about, Joey wouldn't hate him or accuse him of anything.

Three hours later, Joey returned to Yami's room.

"Have you finished?" Yami asked, reading Joey's expression carefully.

"Yeah, so if you want to use it, I didn't turn it off."

"Okay. Did you talk to anyone new?"

"Yeah, I got two new e-mails and replied to them."

"Did you _chat_ with anyone else?" Yami asked, anxious to know if Joey had spoken to Kaiba.

"Yeah, Ron talked with me again, saying that he didn't want us to end it like that. That's why I took long time; I had to convince him that there's no use in having a long-distance relationship, when we both know it won't go anywhere."

"Anyone else?" Yami asked, hoping not to hear Kaiba's name.

"No, just Ron."

"Okay."

"I have to go now and meet with Tristan. Do you want me to bring anything when I come back?"

"No." Yami shook his head, a bit relieved to know that Kaiba hadn't spoken with Joey. "Take care."

"You too," Joey said as he put his jacket on and left the apartment.

Yami stayed where he was, puzzled. How could Seto not have spoken to Joey in the entire three hours he'd been online?

_Unless he knew who was behind the computer. Whether it was Joey or me… but how? _he thought, eyes widening.

There was no better way than to ask him personally, so Yami went to the computer. It was still on, but it appeared that Joey had logged out.

Yami signed in, opened a new window, and sent a message to Kaiba.

**"Hello Seto," **he wrote, and then waited. Kaiba's answer seemed to affirm his assumption.

**"Finally, you came back to your senses and decided to talk to me." **

**

* * *

**

End of chapter 9

A/N1: Please tell me what you think so far.

A/N2: I forgot to thankAnita for correcting the Spanish say in the 7th chapter. But I didn't know if what you wrote is the whole say or only the first part of it that's why I left it as it is. Thanks Anita :)

A/N3: Blue told me that I've improved A LOT in writing :) :) Yes! I'm very happy ^^


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks to Blue September for editing the chapter, you're amazing :)

I don't own YGO

Bold font is the chat between Yami and Kaiba

Chapter 10

**

* * *

**

_**"Finally, you came back to your senses and decided to talk to me." **_

**"Why haven't you said anything to me in the past three hours? I was on-line," **Yami asked impatiently.

**"No you weren't," **Kaiba retorted, which doubled Yami's confusion.

**"How the hell do you know?" **

**"Know what?"**

**"Whether it was me or not?"**

**"Oh, that. Why do I have to answer?"**

**"Because..." **Yami typed, not knowing what to add. He paused searching for an answer, but another message came from Kaiba.

**"Or do you just want to talk to me."**

"In your dreams!" Yami hissed, already annoyed by Kaiba's tone. **"Why would I want such a thing?"**

**"What are we doing now?"**

Yami rolled his eyes.** "Do you think that I'm talking to you because I want to ... forget it." **

"**Then why?" **Kaiba asked.

"**I want answers," **Yami said truthfully.

"**Oh God! Here we go again! And I should give them because?"**

"**I don't really have a strong reason, but I need to know."**

"**Not very convincing,"** Kaiba commented.** "So what is it?"**

"**How did you know whether it was me or Joey behind the computer?"**

**"Is that all? Look, I'm not psychic or anything. I just figured you wouldn't stay online for three hours without talking to me, so it must have been Joey behind the computer or at least someone else."**

**"What about this morning?"**

**"What about it?"**

**"How did you know it was me even though I didn't talk to you?"**

**"Joey wouldn't be up so early. That left me with the only alternative, which is you. I told you. It was a no brainer!"**

"**But Joey has been waking up early for the past three days," **Yami said. It was true. For the last few days, when Joey was talking with Kaiba, he was getting up early. So that didn't count.

"**Regardless, old habits die hard," **Kaiba answered, as if he knew that Joey would revert to his former self, once it was over with them.

"**Okay."** Yami couldn't find anything else to say. So Kaiba wasn't using some high-tech method to spy on him. He was just connecting the dots. How clever.

"**Okay?"**Kaiba asked. "**Is that it?"**

"**No." **Yami had thought of his second question. **"Why are you using an online dating service?" **

"**Why don't you save that question for when we meet?"**

The college boy snorted with disapproval.** "Who told you we'd be meeting?"**

"**Then that question will never be answered, and I know how curious a person you are."**

"**Then you don't know me at all, apparently," **Yami wrote back, challengingly**.**

"**By the way, I had a dream about you last night," **Kaiba said all of a sudden.

Yami's eyes widened, that was strange. He wanted more details though, he wrote quickly, "**Really?"**

"**No. I just wanted to prove to you how curious you are." **

Yami bristled, but despite his feelings he was thankful that he hadn't rushed into things. He had been on the verge of asking him how he'd looked in that dream, good or what? Questions like those would only inflate Kaiba's already big ego beyond measure.

Speaking of dreams, Yami remembered the dream he had had about Kaiba. He wondered if Kaiba really had dreamt about him and was just toying with him like always. Yami wasn't in the mood for playing. It would be better if he just ended things with Kaiba, here and now, with or without the answers he craved. This was his chance to prove to Kaiba that he wouldn't let his curiosity get the best of him. So he wrote, **"Actually, you took me by surprise. If you don't want to talk, that's your business, but we will never meet. As I said I'm sorry for the whole misunderstanding."**

"**The only one misunderstanding things here is you."**

"**I told you before that I'm not interested."**

"**Alright, as you want."** Kaiba said surprisingly.

Yami had expected more resistance from him, more arguing, more of a fight. But that didn't happen. Was it because he was asking personal questions, Yami wondered. He pushed that question aside, finding himself typing in disbelief, **"Okay, it's goodbye then. And Good luck."**

"**You too,"** Kaiba typed and went off line few moments after.

Yami couldn't believe it was over, sure he had badly wanted to end everything with Kaiba, but he felt a bit awkward when it happened for real. He felt like there was something missing, because it was like saying goodbye to a friend. Did he really feel a need to chat with the billionaire? Had he gotten so used to talking with him that he'd actually started liking their conversations?

And Kaiba! Why had he said 'okay' just like that? Was he expecting Yami to come crawling back, begging him to start over? Did Seto think that he knew Yami better than himself? In that case, he'd better think again, because Yami would be damned if he'd continue anything with Kaiba. Deep down, however, he wanted things he knew he shouldn't. He wished that Kaiba would break down, and finally chat with him, to show him that he wasn't alone in his feelings. He wished he hadn't been so stubborn.

Confused and annoyed with himself, he vigorously ruffled his hair. Why couldn't he stop thinking about the brunette? Wasn't this what he wanted? Or what he thought he wanted? Then why was he feeling this way?

Sighing, because he still had no answers, Yami turned the computer off and decided to lie down.

He got up and went to his room, and there, he climbed onto the bed, thinking that he would get some peace, but that didn't happen. He was restless and thoughts kept swirling in his head. Would Joey really be upset if he knew about Kaiba? His blond friend had told him that the whole thing had already been like Yami and Kaiba dating and not he and Kaiba. What would it be like to start something with Kaiba anyway? But why would he think like that? Why now, after ending everything?

Yami's mind finally relaxed enough for him drift to sleep, only to be awakened by the sounds of clicking keys on a keyboard. He assumed that Joey must have returned and now was using the computer. Yami looked at the clock over his head, and surprisingly, he had been asleep for two hours. His crimson eyes closed again, as he tried to figure things out. Apparently, Joey must have come in, while he was sleeping, seen him like that, and chose not to wake him up.

Opening his eyes again, Yami got himself up, and sat on the bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, before standing up, and walking out of his room. He was right, Joey was there, chatting, or at least that's what it looked like to Yami, who proceeded towards his friend silently. Joey, who was too enthralled with his typing, didn't feel Yami's presence. "Ah! where have all the guys had gone?" he grumbled. "Why I can't find someone to talk to?"

Hearing that, Yami's eyes grew wide, and he glanced carefully at his best friend. He decided to pretend to hear nothing, as he took a few steps back to his room with the same quietness. From his room he called, "Joey? Is that you?"

"Umm… yes, here Yami! In the living room," came Joey's answer.

"Oh Joe! I thought I heard something," Yami said, feigning ignorance, walking out of his room again. "When did you come back?"

"About an hour ago! Sorry, did I wake you up?" Joey asked, glancing at the other quickly, before returning to his screen.

Yami shook his head, sitting on the nearest couch. "No, though I should have gotten up earlier. I have a pile of assignments to do."

"Forget about'em. You need a rest," Joey advised. He abandoned the computer, swiveling around in his chair, and giving Yami his full attention.

"I can't." Yami sighed deeply. "Rest just isn't for me."

"Man! You work too hard. I brought pizza for you. It's in the kitchen."

"Thanks Joe, but this is life after all. No pain no gain," Yami replied, shrugging in a casual manner. "What about you? Has anything happened to you recently?"

"Other than talking with Ron, no," Joey answered.

"_What?"_ Yami wondered to himself in disbelief. Hadn't Joey just been complaining about not being able to find anyone to talk to? And to increase his puzzlement, Joey continued, "Yeah, Ron is very attached to me. I've been chatting with him for the past hour, trying to tell him that there's no point in a relationship like this and…."

As Joey kept ranting about Ron, the truth became clear as crystal to Yami. There was no Ron. Joey had made that up to stop Yami from worrying about him. He wanted to show him that he had a life of his own, and he could build a relationship without relying on Yami's advice. And Joey had chosen to make "Ron" from another country, so that he's have an excuse if Yami ever suggested to meet him.

Joey knew that Kaiba had only kept talking to him, because Yami was there beside him, and it was all over when that help stopped. When they'd met each other on that dreadful date, his cover had been blown.

When Yami realized this, he almost wanted to cry, to say something to make Joey feel better. But he knew he couldn't. It would only hurt Joey's pride all the more, if he know that he'd been discovered.

"So I told him, 'No way,'" Joey laughed. "Can you believe that! He wanted to leave his country, job and his family just to be with me. Of course I wouldn't that happen, so I insisted, we each just stay where we are."

"What country is he from?" he asked, trying to confirm his suspicion.

"Huh... whah?" Joey sputtered.

"Where is he from? You never mentioned the name of his country."

"Umm… He didn't say," Joey said uncomfortably, not expecting such a question.

"He didn't say?" Yami asked, raising his eyebrows accusingly.

"Umm …. Yes," Joey answered, feeling a bit besieged by his friend's inquiries. He gulped nervously, and scratched his head, before continuing. "All he said is that he's not from Japan… or wait! I remember!" Joey exclaimed suddenly. "He said that he's from Italy. That's right… Italy."

"Really?" Yami found himself asking, but he already had his answer. Sadly he was right, and from the way Joey started talking about Italy after that, it was like if trying to convince Yami that he knew at least something about the country. He started to throw out the names of cities there, and what the weather was like etc.

"Okay Joey. I hope it works out with Ron, or whoever you decided to talk to next," Yami smiled warmly when his friend finished. He got up, and went to grab a slice of pizza from the kitchen.

Once there, Yami took a slice before sitting in a chair, trying to think of a way to help Joey. He finished the first piece without having gotten any ideas. Annoyed, he took another one and started chewing and thinking once again. The second slice was finished with much the same result. He took a third one, and a fourth … and a fifth… until there was no more. He groaned when he was out of food and still had no ideas. A sudden scream startled him out of his brooding.

"What the hell! Where is my lunch?"

"Oh Joey? I thought you said you brought it for me?" Yami said sheepishly.

"WHAT? Yeah, I brought it for you so we could eat it together."

"Sorry?" Yami said, unsure if it would be enough to quench Joey's anger.

"Oh," Joey sighed in defeat, there was no point arguing over it. He'd just have to buy more.

"I thought you want to talk to _Ron_ all day!" Yami tried, still squirming, not sure if Joey will ever forgive him when it comes to food.

"Noooo, I just signed out my account to join you… for lunch!" Joey answered still somewhat disappointed. He kept looking at the empty package wishing somehow to find a small piece left. Sadly he didn't find anything.

"_Account_!" Yami echoed, whispering. His eyes lit up in glee when an idea popped into his mind. "Joey, I have to use the computer now."

"Wait! I want to use it …" he looked one last time at his pizza box sorrowfully, "since there's no food."

"Oh Joey! I'm sure that Ron isn't available now."

"What?"

"I-I-I I mean," Yami stuttered while trying to find a way out of his slip. "You just signed out. He must have left after you."

Yami hurriedly sat behind the computer, after convincing Joey to go out to buy more food. He went to the chat site, and clicked on the 'Create a new account' icon. He grinned slyly when he read:

"Step one: I'm a -"

Yami chose 'Man' from the options.

"Looking for a -"

Yami chose 'Man.'

He moved to the next step. "This time, there will be Ron for _real_."

* * *

End of chapter 10

Yes, Yami is creating an account for himself ;)

Sorry I didn't reply the reviews for chapter 9. Thank you all, I love all your supportive comments :)

Keep reviewing, chapter 11 is on the way ;)


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks to Blue for editing this chapter, you're amazing. I know you're busy and yet you keep this wonderful help thanks :)

I don't own YGO

**The bold font is for the chat between Seto and Yami.**

* * *

Chapter11

Step one: "I'm a 'man' looking for a 'man'"

With that, Yami completed the first step in creating a new account on the dating site. He hit the 'Proceed' button, then he was directed to step two, where there was more blanks to fill. Yami started at once.

'Pen name: -'

Yami typed 'Atemu' into the space, before proceeding.

'E-mail: -' He wrote his e-mail address and rewrote it for confirmation.

'Password: -'

"Hmmm…" He took a minute thinking, what should he use? Yami remembered Joey's password was his favorite legendary monster, the Red Eyes Black Dragon, while Yami's favorite was the 'Black Magician'. The ruby-eyed boy smiled and decided to pick it as a password.

After retyping the Password, Yami hit 'Next Step': the personal details.

'Age: -'

Yami typed '19' then changed his mind and deleted it. He typed '20', and then, remembering the way Seto had teased him about his age, he changed it again to '21', a number that was near his real age and _over_ 20. Besides, eventually he would reach 21.

'Height: Tall … Average … Short ... Too short.'

He chose 'Average', halting for a few moments before moving forward. He read the options again, and again, as if dealing with some inner struggle. Rolling his eyes in defeat he said, "Fine!" and picked 'short'.

"Happy? No, I'm not writing too short," he grumbled to his conscience.

'Eyes color: Brown … Black … Gray … Green … Blue … Honey … Other.'

"Why Red isn't an option? That's discrimination!" Yami complained to himself, selecting 'Other'.

'Hair color: Blank … Blond … Brown … Black … Red … Other."

Yami smirked to himself. He had to admit that his family's odd genetic hair trait was rather uncommon. "Let's see what's next"

'Hair appearance: sleek … mild curly … super curly."

"What? No 'gravity-defying naturally spiky'?" Yami chuckled to himself, clicking on 'sleek'. Well his hair wasn't curly.

'Weight: Overweight … Average … Athlete … Underweight.' He quickly clicked on 'Athlete' before letting himself get into another argument with his conscience.

"_Don't say a word! I'm athlete,"_ he told his mind. Soon he refocused his attention what would come next.

'Chest size: Broad … Average … Petite.'

"I'm average size, at least according to my height," Yami said as he chose the second option. His eyes quickly scanned the rest of the requests and they literally pooped out of his head when he read the last two.

'Crotch: Hairy ... Hairless'

'Penis size: Very big … Big … Average … Small.'

Those two questions, however, were optional. A similar conversation flashed across Yami's mind, when Kaiba had asked him about such things. Had Joey hid them so Kaiba had had to ask? Then he wondered why he was even thinking about such things.

Yami looked around, making sure that no one was near him, although he knew there wasn't. Only then did he answer the questions, muttering to himself. "This site knows about me more than the police now. I wonder what they ask girls!"

After filling in the blanks, he hit 'Proceed' again and was sent to 'Step Three'.

"Come on! Enough already," he said, exasperated.

'Step Three: You're almost done. Just review your information, click 'finish' and you will receive an e-mail.'

"Oh finally," Yami breathed in relief. He hit finish, and was redirected to his new account where he found the first message from the site welcoming him and wishing him the best of luck with finding a match from the site.

"Yeah … yeah, as if that's ever going to happen," Yami mocked, raising an eyebrow as he read the welcome message. Strangely, at that moment, an image of Kaiba crossed his mind, and he didn't know why. He shook his head sharply, as if that would remove the image.

Yami started to explore the site, checking to see who was online. Red Eyes (Joey) was, of course, offline, but Yami visited his profile and left him a message:

'_Hey Red Eyes:_

_I read your profile and would like to get to know you. You seem nice. I hope I'll get a reply from you soon. And oh… I'm only available between (1:00 - 3:00) pm, except on holidays, because I'm off from work.'_

Yami hit 'Send', hoping that it would work. He just wanted to make Joey feel desired. He tried to arrange things for when Joey would be at classes, while Yami was at home, so they could chat.

The message was sent and Yami sat back, relieved at having completed the first part of his mission. Not knowing what else to do, he decided to sign out and go back to studying. He was about to do so when a spark of curiosity prompted him to see if Kaiba was on-line.

"Okay. I just want to know if he's there. That's it," Yami convinced himself, as he continued his search. His eyes scanned the available members that began with the B letter looking for Blue Eyes …

"_Blue Eyes …. Blue Eyes … Blue Eyes … Blue Eyes_ … _Ahh… bingo! Here you are!"_

"I wonder what is he doing now." Yami knitted his eyebrows together, thinking. "Has he met someone else yet?" Part of Yami didn't want that to be true, without knowing exactly why. Maybe because Kaiba had shown an interest in him and suddenly that interest had moved to someone else. Would he do it that fast?

Yami wanted to talk to Kaiba and see if he had been truthful with him. He gave the idea a second thought. Wouldn't that mean that Kaiba was right; that his curiosity had gotten the best of him? But he wasn't acting out of curiosity, he just wanted the truth.

So, pushed only by his _inquisitiveness_ _for the truth_, Yami sent an instant message to Kaiba.

'**Hey, Blue Eyes,'** Yami typed, hoping somehow that Kaiba wouldn't answer _Atemu_. Would Kaiba respond to someone else? or was he still waiting for Yami to change his mind? Yami dismissed that notion instantly, because he knew very well it was stupid and Kaiba would never think like that. So he waited for the reply that didn't come. He was about to give up and sign out again when to his biggest surprise Kaiba answered.

'**Hey.' **

"Oh," Yami groaned, a bit disappointed to receive a reply for Atemu from the other. He couldn't blame him after all. Kaiba had a right to talk to anyone he wanted. At the same time he wondered, had Kaiba been in communication with anyone else while he'd been talking with him? There was no way to find out except to keep chatting with him as Atemu.

'**How are you?'** Yami knew that that kind of questions was stupid, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

'**Good, I'm good.'**

'**Are you busy now?'**

'**No.'**

'**So we can talk now?'**

'**Yeah.'**

Yami wasn't used to this. Usually the CEO was the one asking the questions, and taking control of the conversation, so why he wasn't doing that now? Yami decided to push him a little more, to make him open up.

'**I visited your profile. I think we're highly compatible, and I see us in a relationship not to far in the future.' **Yami sent it, and bit his lip, wondering if he had been too forward. What would Kaiba say or think?

'**Really? And do your predictions normally come true?' **

'**Always.' **Yami confirmed.

'**Good to know that my search will end soon then.'**

'**Why? How long have you been here?'**

'**Around five months.'**

'**That's quite a while. Haven't you met anyone?'**

'**No.'**

"WHAT?" Yami burst out, not believing what Kaiba had just said. Had their conversations meant nothing to the man? Yami typed instantly, **'That sounds a little unrealistic. Sorry, I'm not trying to be rude. I mean, being in this site the whole time without talking to anyone. I find it strange.'**

'**I know what you mean. I've talked with a lot of guys, but no one special.'**

"Be thankful I'm not beside you, or I'd kill you, you ungrateful jerk!" Yami growled. He wanted to reply, but he needed to cool himself down first. Another message came before he could reply.

'**Unlike you, of course. You seem different.'**

Yami was bewildered. They'd barely talked for more than a few minutes and Kaiba had already started making assumptions about him. Did he act like that with everyone? And why had he told 'Joey' that he hadn't spoken to anyone before him? How many guys had he met besides Joey? Why he hadn't thought of creating a second account before? He could have caught Kaiba in his lies before Joey had been hurt.

Those questions made Yami more determined than ever to discover Kaiba's true motives. **'How can you say that I'm different and we haven't even met?'**

'**Then how can you be sure about a relationship between us?'**

"Don't answer my question with another one. Lairs don't have the right to ask!" Yami hissed, not liking the way the dark haired male was acting. Barely containing his anger, Yami replied,** 'I just got that feeling.'**

'**So did I,' **Kaiba answered.

"Sneaky," Yami mumbled under his breath. **'That's good.'**

'**What's your name?'**

'**Atemu. And you?' **

'**You chose your real name as a pen name?' **

'**Yeah… You didn't answer. What's your name?'**

'**Blue Eyes … for now,' **Kaiba replied.

"Really?" Yami laughed at how they both refused to tell each other their real names. It was as if Kaiba had sensed that Atemu wasn't Yami's real name. It was like the richer male was mimicking his moves, step by step. Shrugging, he continued. **'Okay Blue Eyes.'**

'**Okay Atemu.'**

Yami heard the sound of the apartment door opening, realizing that Joey must have returned. He had to end their conversation with Kaiba. Joey couldn't find out what he was up to. **'I have to go now, but I'll be available tomorrow between 1:00 am and 3:00 am.'**

'**Okay, I'll be on-line.'**

"You're always on-line!" Yami commented sarcastically, as he typed. **'Good! Bye now.'**

'**Bye,' **Kaiba said, ending the chat. Yami immediately logged out and closed the browser before rushing into the kitchen, and acting as if he had done nothing.

"Yami," Joey called.

"Here, in the kitchen." Yami answered, soon the blond came holding a new pizza with one hand and more food in the other.

"I hope you're not tired Joe."

"I am, but I'll get my energy back now," Joey said, opening his pizza and placing it on the table.

"What are you doing?"

"Exactly what you did an hour ago!" Joey retorted, reminding Yami that he's eaten the whole pizza before.

"Yeah… Yeah." The shorter male rolled his eyes. He knew that Joey would never let this pizza incident go. "Give it a rest, will you? I meant you can eat at the computer, what if _Ron_'s there?"

"Umm … He can wait for me."

"Do you think it's appropriate to keep him waiting? Just see if he's there!"

Not wanting to discuss it any more, Joey sighed heavily as he got up, carrying a piece of pizza and went to the computer. He logged in and to his surprise he had a new message in his inbox. Joey eagerly opened it while Yami was a few steps behind, watching the way his friend's face broke into a happy grin once he read message's contents.

"Yami!" he exclaimed merrily with a wide smile on his face. "There's a guy, his name is Atemu! And he is… he is…"

Understanding what Joey wanted to say, Yami acted as surprised as the blond. "Oh, great Joe! Now you don't need Ron anymore."

"What?" Joey asked suspiciously.

Realizing what he had just said, Yami tried to backpedal. "Ahh- Ah … I mean, Ron is from _another country_. It wouldn't have worked out between you two!"

"From Italy."

"Right!" Yami nodded repeatedly.

"Can you bring me a drink and the rest of the pizza from the kitchen? I want to check out Atemu's profile."

"Yeah," Yami said and a splash of pink appeared across his face when he remembered the details he'd had to write about himself when he created the account.

* * *

End of chapter 11

Please tell me what you think ;)


	12. Chapter 12

I don't own YGO

Thanks to Jollybigsis for editing this chapter, and thanks to Blue September for cheking on it again :) you guys are awesome.

The bold font is for the chat between Kaiba/Yami/Joey …

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 12**

"Next semester, I'll register in any course of Dr. Hopkins'. His exams are easy; I got an A for the first time in my life in Greek Mythology thanks to him," Tristan prattled excitedly to Joey and Yami as they walked through the campus.

"Good for you," Yami said, smiling.

"Aww… I don't know. I have to like the subject first, not the teacher," Joey objected. He loved History and he was studying it with genuine passion, not like the rest of students who attended just to pass courses and graduate.

Tristan didn't seem put off by Joey's remark. "Nah, the grade is important. I have to finish early so I can return home and teach your sister everything she needs to know about everything," he added dreamily, thinking about Serenity… but he hastily sobered up when he got the death glare from Joey.

"See you guys later," he laughed, waving to his friends as he walked off to his next lecture.

"Later," Yami replied back before looking at Joey, "Well, I'm going home then."

Joey looked hesitant as mumbled to his pal, "I have a three hour break before my next lecture but there's no point returning to the apartment to chat with Atemu, so I think I'll talk with him from here."

"Oh that's great, Joey!" Yami exclaimed happily for his friend.

"But you know what Yami?" Joey abruptly said, looking concerned.

"What is it, Joe?" prompted Yami, noticing the uncertainty in his friend's voice.

"There is one thing I didn't like about that guy?" Yami stiffened at the comment.

Taken aback by the change of attitude, Yami asked anxiously whilst checking in his mind of anything he might have erroneously written down when creating the account, "And what is that?"

"His profile says he's short."

"Oh… umm," Yami stumbled uncomfortably, looking around and asking himself why he felt the need to defend 'Atemu'. For some reason he just _had_ to. "Maybe he is not as short as you think; maybe he's just like me." Yami suggested. Joey thought for a few seconds before squirming in horror at the vision his future boyfriend!

Yami gasped when he saw the blondes' reaction, wondering how Joey _really_ saw him. A midget! He wanted to ask straight away when they were rudely interrupted by Rafael, "Hey, hottie." He winked at Yami, "Ready to take a ride into heaven?" he smirked slyly pointing at his nearby car, "Oops, I mean home. My BMW is waiting."

Yami held his breath in frustration. He hated how people continuously tried to hit on him on a daily basis, both girls and guys alike. And Rafael was no different. Still, his manners got the better of him when he forced a smile and replied, "Thanks, but no thanks."

"Oh, this is gonna hurt my feelings," Rafael protested, faking the pain in his eyes and refusing to take "no" for an answer.

Yami wrapped an arm around Joey's waist whilst he tenderly caressed his friend's face with his other free hand. "I'm going home now, honey. I can't wait for you to join me later," he murmured alluringly. He ran his fingers along Joey's face, rubbing the chin lightly before ending the show with a quick kiss on his cheek. Yami released himself from the embrace and looked at Rafael with a shrug, "Sorry Raf, but I'm taken." With that said, he turned on his heels and began to make his way home, paying no heed to how Rafael would react or what he would say.

"I love how you call me 'Raf'," the senior called out, not sure if Yami heard him or not. But Joey did, noticing how Rafael was staring at Yami predatorily… still drooling over him.

This wasn't the first time Yami had pretended that he and Joey were a couple to get rid of the persistently flirtatious people - though admittedly it didn't always work. That made Joey wonder, how could Yami be so indifferent to the attention? The blonde was puzzled. Why were so many people attracted to his friend and yet he rejected them all and why was it that when Joey himself wished for one guy but couldn't find one? The thought unconsciously triggered a slight twinge of jealousy inside him, but he quickly suppressed it; reminding himself of how Yami always supported and took care of him. His buddy even offered him a home when he couldn't afford a decent apartment near their college. Joey was grateful, but he couldn't help but wish he could live as Yami for one day; having all that attention and being able to be selective about people.

But then again, he knew that it wouldn't matter if he found his soul mate. He wouldn't be mindful of how others were constantly hitting on Yami and not him. He thought that if he could hook up with someone like Rafael, he would be very happy.

On the other hand, there was 'Atemu' to consider and that was something. Progress, if he could call it that. Looking down at his watch, Joey realized that Atemu would be available online so he shouldn't waste any more time by loitering around and dwelling on foolish thoughts.

* * *

Once inside the apartment, Yami hurriedly went to the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of orange juice from the fridge, he rushed to the computer. Turning it on and settling in front of it, he immediately logged into his account. Even before he had the chance to search for Joey, there was a message in his inbox. "Oh, already?" he asked himself, not expecting anyone to send him e-mails so soon. He was somewhat surprised. It was from a member called 'Red Arrow to Break Your Heart', Yami laughed at the name as he opened the virtual letter.

_My dearest,_

_I have no idea why I feel this way! But I can't stop thinking about you ever since I saw your profile. It's destiny._

_Do you know the relationship between your eyes and their significance? I will tell you. They blink together, move together, cry together, see things together and … sleep together. There are a pair and I hope I can be one - with you as the other …_

_My love,_

_I promise you, that I'll love you, adore you and be addicted to you like a drug. Let me tell you that, for your amusement, I will write for you and will continue to do so, even if my pen dies; even if I lose my life doing so. _

_If I sleep I dream of you. But if you try to push me away, you will find me coming closer to you, whispering in your ears: "I'll always love you…" _

_I would gladly die just to hear a word from you, please have a mercy on me and say you will return the feeling._

_Love you forever, _

_Red Arrow._

"Oh God," Yami grimaced, annoyed by the lame love talk, "Why isn't there a stricter policy against idiots on this site?" he grumbled as he added the member to the 'Ignore List'. He didn't want the chance of being pestered by him again in the future. Then he proceeded to look for Joey who was already logged on, Yami instantly started a conversation with him.

**'Hey, Red Eyes.'**

**'Hey, Atemu. It's your real name, right?'**

**'Yeah, what's yours?'**

**'Joey… Joey Wheeler. Where are you from?'**

"Umm… that's a good question," Yami muttered to himself, remembering how Joey faltered about Ron when he was confronted with the same question. If Yami was going to pick a country, he should know it right, and the best option available was… Egypt. He had been there many times in during his summer vacations.

**'I'm from Egypt, and you?'** Yami wrote as he savored playing the clueless character, he wondered why he hadn't considered acting as career instead of studying history.

**'Egypt? It's quite a faraway country,'**

**'Yes it is.'** _That's the point,_ Yami thought to himself, he couldn't risk picking the same country or else Joey would start thinking seriously and get his hopes high.

**'But distances are meaningless when there's love.'**

"Have a little pride Joey, will you?" Yami groaned as he typed, '**You're right. Where are from? You didn't tell me.'**

**'Japan, from a city there called Domino.'**

**'Wow. I love Japan, your city sounds nice.' **

**'Yes it is. You'll see when you come over.'**

**'Oh, I wish, but I can't. I live here. I was hoping you would come here instead.' **Yami wrote, knowing that the other would never agree.

**'I hope. Who knows?'**

**'If that happened, it would be great.' **Yami had to say, grinning as he resisted the urge to genuinely set-up his friend with a member from Egypt; just in case the blonde lost his mind completely and decided flee to the other side of the world.

But Yami knew that Joey was acting like this, because he'd finally found someone to chat with. He was sure that his best friend would find love much sooner. Atemu would just be a stop-gap for Joey, whilst the latter is on the search for his perfect partner. Once his friend found 'Mr. Right', Atemu would skillfully and discreetly withdraw from the scene.

Yami's attention reverted back to the screen once more.

**'Yes it would. We could get to know each other better.'** Joey paused. **'I know it might sound weird, but I started imagining you.' **

**'Hey, me too! I think you're blonde,' **Yami wrote confidently. He was finally within his comfort-zone commenting on things that he was sure about. And the best part was that Joey had hidden his personal information from his profile so he couldn't say that Yami had read it there.

**'You're right!'**

'**And under twenty,'** Yami added. Even though it was so tempting to write his actual age, Yami thought it would be too obvious if he started to guess everything right, so he had to leave some answers somewhat obscure.

**'Woah, you're right again. Man! I'm starting to think you're psychic. You either have the sixth sense, or you're really good at guessing.'**

"I wish Seto could read this!" Yami said proudly to himself, even if it_ was_ a fake guess. Pushing the arrogant CEO out of his mind, Yami smugly wrote,** 'Yes I am.'**

**'It's obvious. I'm so lucky to have met you.'**

Yami chuckled, his eyes twinkling with pride; unlike his rather humble reply. **'No, I'm the lucky one,' **he wrote. Just then a message from Kaiba popped out in a new chat window**. **

**'Hey,' **greeted Kaiba**.**

**'Hey Seto-' **

_Oh no!_ Yami realized just in time that he was about to use Seto's real name, when it should have been unknown to him, or to Atemu rather. He was grateful that the message hadn't been sent otherwise he would have been so busted. He had to be more careful in the future. He deleted 'Seto' and replaced it with** 'Blue Eyes,' **and sent it.

**'What are you up to?'**

_Umm, _Yami thought, looking at his bottle of juice on the computer table, he chose to answer briefly so he wouldn't keep Joey waiting much longer. **'Drinking', **he wrote.

**'Drinking what?' **Kaiba asked.

Another message from Joey appeared on the screen while Yami was busy writing his answer to Seto.** 'You're so nice. I wish I could see you now. Do you feel the same way?' **it read.

**'Orange juice.' **

Yami gasped when the message was delivered to… _Joey_! The latter's chat window was activated over Seto's. Hoping that Joey wouldn't realize the difference, he quickly added,** 'Orange juice is very good for you. Do you drink it?' **then he moved to answer Seto and wrote,** 'Orange juice,' **again in the correct place.

**'Yes I like it. My roommate, Yami likes it more,' **Joey answered.

**'Yami? Do you live with another guy? I thought you were single!' **Yami asked, wholeheartedly playing the 'uninformed-about-the-other-guy' ruse. The scenario was strangely entertaining, considering he was _supposedly_ jealous of himself.

**'I wish I was the bottle,' **Kaiba wrote and Yami rolled his eyes.

"Keep wishing," he muttered. Still, he allowed himself to play with the idea… to imagine his lips on Seto. The thought sent a shiver down his spine and immediately he blushed. He was thankful that he was alone with no one to witness his little display. So he decided not to reply to Seto, choosing to wait for Joey's response instead. It finally appeared.

**'No! Please don't get the wrong idea, Yami and I grew up together. We're childhood friends and attend the same university. We're like brothers. Even if we weren't, I would never think of Yami as a boyfriend. So don't worry about that.' **

"What? What's wrong with me?" Yami asked, narrowing his eyes, he had to know what Joey meant!** 'Why? Is he ugly?' **

**'No but he's short, very short.'**

Yami gasped in horror as he read the answer. It made him want to go and confront his friend, informing him of "Atemu's" true identity to his face. Joey's explanation popped up in the next message.

**'But I'd never tell him that, because he's very sensitive about the subject. So if it happens and we meet, the three of us, I mean - please don't bring up the subject. Though, you might be very surprised by his extreme shortness.'**

"Arrrgh, will you shut up?" Yami growled under his breath, wanting to say something back but another message came from Seto.

**'Still there?' **Kaiba asked.

Choosing to focus on Seto for the time being, Yami ignored Joey and shifted his attention on the other chat window. **'Yes, I'm here,' **he wrote.

**'Your words leave me speechless,' **Yami continued. For the first time he found talking with Seto was more enjoyable than talking with Joey!

**'Oh, is that so? Or is there something distracting you?' **Kaiba inquired.

Yami gasped at Seto's deduction.

**'Why would you say that?' **Yami asked. He knew it was true. His real intention was to stroke Joey's ego, to increase his self-esteem so he wouldn't feel lonely and depressed. But it turned out to be trickier than he'd anticipated – Joey had just pissed him off royally and Seto's interruptions weren't helping either. Seto assumed that Yami was distracted, and he was right, but he would be damned if he told him the real reason!

**'I haven't said anything distracting … yet,' **came the cocky reply.

Yami laughed.** 'Then keep them to yourself and don't tell me.'**

**'…Until we meet?' **Kaiba asked.

Yami shrugged; there was no way for _that_ to ever happen. If Kaiba insisted, Yami would tell him the truth and show him just who was playing with whom. With that resolution, Yami didn't mind humoring the CEO**. 'Yes, until we meet.'**

**'And when that will be?' **Kaiba pressed on.

Yami was exasperated at Seto's persistence.** 'I really don't know, leave it to time,' **he replied.

**'Atemu?**' That was Joey, wondering what was keeping Yami from talking with him. Yami scowled as he held back his retort but he turned his attention back to Atemu's little game again.

**'Yes, I'm here Joey. I was just thinking about you.'**

**'Really?' **Joey followed the text with plenty of smiley faces to show 'Atemu' how happy he was.

Yami wasn't over his annoyance, but it would be too cruel to rub things like that in Joey's face, especially when he saw the cute reaction from his friend. So he decided to continue the play and send him the pathetic e-mail he'd received earlier from the idiot 'Red Arrow'. It was an attempt to show Joey how pathetic 'Atemu' was. At least, it might make Joey feel good about himself and might lose his interest in Atemu.

So Yami copied the message from his inbox, then pasted it in the chat window and hit the 'Send' button. Yami waited for Joey's response, smiling brightly all the while. Soon that smile faded and was replaced by a very frightened expression. His heart started beating rapidly as he stared in shame and fear. "Oh MY GOD! I've sent it to _Seto_!"

Snapping out of his panic, Yami started to write something, hoping it would work in making things better, **'Hehehe. Funny isn't it? I just wanted you to have a good laugh.'**

**'He sent it to you too? Clearly, this guy is sending the same message to everyone on the site; I wonder why no one's reported him yet. Put him on the ignore list.'**

Yami sighed in relief; Kaiba hadn't noticed anything strange with his action. It was good to know that the letter had been sent to everyone - that meant it was sent to Joey too. Yami would have been very embarrassed if Joey had caught him copying someone else's message and passing it off as his own. Yami was thankful to Seto for that.

**'I just did, thanks for warning me,'** Yami told Kaiba.

**'There are a lot of manipulators out there. Be careful,' **Kaiba advised.

**'Yeah,' **Yami wrote, adding to himself, "As if you're not one of them!"

**'Atemu?"** Joey wrote.

**'Yes Joey I'm here, I was a bit busy.' **Yami hastily wrote, not wanting to reveal details of his major botch-up.

**'It's okay. I only wanted to tell you that I'll be leaving now and I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?'**

**'Okay,'** Yami acknowledged as Joey went off-line, leaving him with Seto.

* * *

Later that day, Joey returned home carrying a large box. "Hey Yami!" he called, as he walked with great difficulty to the table. Placing the carton down cautiously, he was relieved to be rid of the heavy load.

"What?" Yami appeared, looking annoyed. He still hadn't forgotten what Joey had said about him.

"I brought loads of orange juice. It's good for you. Come and take as much as you want," the clueless housemate offered cheerfully.

"Thanks," Yami said, not really sounding grateful at all. As he approached the table, he deliberately trampled on Joey's foot as hard as he could.

"Awch… Yami…! Didn't ya see me?"

"Oops," Yami blinked innocently. "I must have been too short to see your foot!" He grabbed a bottle of orange juice, trod on Joey's other foot for good measure, before returning to his room, leaving behind a rather bewildered Joey nursing is abused feet and none the wiser.

* * *

End of chapter 12


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks to Blue September for editing the chapter, you're amazing :)

I don't own YGO

**Bold font is the chat between Yami and Kaiba**

Chapter 13

* * *

On campus, Tristan sat speaking with a pretty brunette girl. He laughed from time to time, rubbing the back of his head, trying not to seem awkward. When he spotted Yami, he waved, calling him over. "Yo, Yami! Over here."

Yami looked at Tristan, smiling. He approached the two students. "Hi Tristan," he said. Then he turned to the girl. "And you .. umm…" Yami trailed off. This was his first time meeting the girl and he had no clue as to her name. Tristan quickly stepped in, noticing Yami's discomfort.

"Oh, Yami, this is my classmate, Tea! We sat next to each other today in Ancient Civilizations." He looked to Tea. "Tea, this is Yami. I told you about him."

"Really?" Yami asked, eyes widening slightly, wondering what Tristan might have said. He hoped it hadn't been anything too personal, like Joey who had been blabbing personal things about Yami to 'Atemu', a man he barely knew. He pulled himself from that train of thought and extended his hand to Tea in greeting. "Hello Tea, nice to meet you."

"Oh, and nice to meet you too Yami," she replied, giggling brightly, as she returned the hand shake. "Where's your other friend?" she asked.

"Joey?" Tristan guessed agreeing with her, but not noticing the slight snort Yami made when the blond's name was mentioned. The chat between Joey and Atemu about Yami's height was still bothering him. "Yeah, where's he Yami? You two take most of the same lectures."

"I don't know," Yami answered dismissively with a small sigh of frustration.

"Didn't you come together?" Tristan asked.

"No!" Yami retorted, and Tristan muttered, '_strange'_ to himself raising an eyebrow at the abnormal behaviour between.

Not wanting to prolong the conversation about his big-mouthed friend, Yami quickly changed topics. "So Tea, it's almost the end of the semester now, why haven't you and Tristan met before?"

"I usually sit in the front, and Tristan always takes the ones in back. Today I was late for the first time, and sat in the back beside Tristan."

"Good thing he wasn't sleeping. He does that quite a lot," Yami said eyeing Tristan in accusation. Tea laughed, instantly taking a liking to Yami who laughed along with her. Tristan desperately tried to stop them, which only made them laugh harder. Eventually he couldn't help but to join then too. In the mean time, Joey found his way over to the cheerful little group.

Tristan was the first one to see him. "Speak of the Devil!" he joked as he waved the blonde over.

When the other two glanced at whom Tristan was speaking, Yami's joyful face suddenly turned serious, with a hint of annoyance that he unsuccessfully tried to hide. His change of attitude when Joey arrived, was as clear as day to the two he was sitting with.

"I have to go now! Again, nice meeting you Tea." He gave the new girl one last glance, smiling politely, then he stood quickly, withdrawing himself from the others.

"Yami wait!" Joey called, but he got no answer from his roommate or even an explanation.

"What's wrong with him?" Tristan asked, not believing the way Yami was treating Joey.

"I don't know. I'm just as clueless as you are." Joey shook his head, still looking, at who was Yami walking away from them. "He hasn't been himself since yesterday."

"You should talk to him, and see what's bothering him. He might be having financial trouble and not telling you. You know how he is," Tristan suggested.

"I don't think so, but I'll talk to him today for sure," Joey assured.

Tea was still distractedly looking at Yami. Today must have been her lucky day, to meet a guy as good looking as Yami. It would be great if he could have walked her home or something, unfortunately he hadn't stayed longer. Hoping to see him again later, the girl brought her hand to her face to remove a stray tuft of hair from it, and turned her attention back to the other two.

"So you must be Joey?" She asked, smiling.

"Yes," Tristan answered instead, completing his introductions. "This is Tea, my… our new friend."

"Hi, Tea. Nice to meet you," Joey said, his mind still on Yami. He had to put that question on the back burner for now, however, as he had a date online with Atemu soon. He had to speak with him and he'd see Yami later. "I'm sorry guys but I gotta go."

"You too? Where? You still have another lecture today!" Tristan protested.

"I know, but I have other things to do. See you later," Joey said leaving Tristan and Tea again.

"Okay, but you have to tell me about it later," Tristan said, though he could almost guess what the 'other things' would be.

"'Kay," Joey agreed without turning back, and walking hurriedly to the nearest computer he might find.

"Your friends are nice," Tea told Tristan once they were alone.

"Yes they are." Tristan nodded. "If you have an early lecture tomorrow, we can spend more time with them."

"Hmm," she thought. "I have a lecture at 8:00 am."

"Great! We can meet at 10 o'clock," Tristan exclaimed happily. "You'll like them even better once you get to know them."

"I already like them, especially Yami," she promoted, a glitter of happiness sparkling in her eyes. She wanted to get to know him better. "Say Tristan, does Yami have a girlfriend?"

"You mean a boyfriend?" Tristan answered, with a wide malicious grin.

"What?" Her eyes widened then narrowed in disappointment. That's not what she was hoping to hear.

Seeing her face, Tristan continued. "Yeah, Joey is too. A lot of girls find them sexy because of that," he pointed out, not sure if telling her that he was thinking of hooking up with some dude to draw girls' attention was a good idea or not, so he dismissed it judging from the way she reacted to the news about Yami.

"That's true," she kept going, trying her best not to look disappointed. "So are they a couple?"

"Oh no. They live together though … but not they're not a couple. They pretended sometimes, but they're not like that. It maybe sound complicated, but once you know them better, you'll understand," Tristan explained. Tea nodded not really having anything else to say.

"On the bright side, I'm available," Tristan offered, looking completely serious, despite the sweat that formed on his face in an attempt to hide the lameness of his words.

Tea stopped nodding, swallowed hard, and prepared herself to give a _nice_ big rejection speech.

* * *

Back at the apartment, Yami was hesitant about continuing his game with Joey. Surely the blond was very happy at the moment. He knew that Joey had wanted to talk to him about _Atemu _earlier, but Yami just hadn't been in the mood to speak to Joey. He wanted to tell Joey not to say such embarrassing things about him to other people, but how could he explain how he knew about them in the first place? So he decided to leave that discussion for a later date, one where there would be no _Atemu._

Again, Yami wondered it he should keep pretending to be Atemu, or if he should drop the whole thing. The latter option always seemed so cruel. Joey was so happy right now. He just didn't have the heart. Agains his will Yami went to the computer and logged into the site. There was Joey, already waiting for him. Sighing heavily, Yami began to type.

'**Hello Joey.'**

'**Hi, I was waiting for more than half hour****. I was scared that you wouldn't show up again.'**

The truth was that Yami had spent this time, not only debating with himself about the situation with Joey, but trying to decide if he should try and speak to Kaiba again. **'I sorry Joey. Sometimes I'm not in control of my own schedule. I won't be late tomorrow.' **

'**No, it's okay. M****y mind's always thinking of the worst possibilities. I know that I shouldn't, but I can't help it. If you'd have told me that you'd be late, I would've stayed with my friend Tristan a bit longer. He was introducing me to someone.'**

'**Sorry again Joey.**** I hope you can meet that friend again.'**

'**That's not my sole reason for leaving. I****n fact, I wanted to talk with Yami, the friend I told you about. He's been avoiding me recently and I don't know why.'**

Yami growled. If he answered Joey then it would be like talking to him indirectly. It didn't feel right, but maybe this was better than facing him and his massage might reach the blond without hurting his feelings. Coming to a decision, Yami started typing. **'Why do you think he's avoiding you? Unless there's something you did that he didn't like.'**

'**Nothing ****like that happened.'**

"Oh really?" Yami snorted. **'That's hard to believe, Joey. No one avoids his friends for no reason.'**

'**I know. This is driving me crazy. I never said anything to him. I wonder what he would do if he knew what I told you about his shortness! He would defiantly explode. You can't believe how touchy about that subject he is.'**

'**Well, in that case you should****n't have told me,'** Yami answered, thankful that Joey wasn't sensing the anger in his words.

'**You'd find out about that anyway. And I'm sure that's not the reason, it must be something else.'**

'**Joey, weather this is the reason or not, you shouldn't talk like that behind his back. You don't even know me that well.'**

'**Trust me.**** I feel as if I've know you for ever. Heck! You described me so well yesterday, it's as if we've met before.'**

It had been stupid to say all those things about Joey when they'd started talking, Yami realised belatedly, with a hint of embarrassment. "Damn Seto," he murmured, kicking himself for trying to emulate the CEO. Finding himself in a bit of a pickle, he could do nothing but agree with Joey. **'You're right'**

'**See! You're different. And I only told you that so you wouldn't be surprised when you see him.'**

"Here we go again!" Yami rolled his eyes, wanting to get away from the topic. **'Okay.'**

'**Not only is he short, but**** his crazy hair might surprise you too. People say that his hair style is sexy, but I don't know what the logic is behind that. His hair sticks out of his head like a porcupine.'**

"Whaaaaat!" Yami screamed, not believing what the other was telling him. When had Joey become like this? Is this what he really thought about him, short with crazy hair? And God only knew what else! Yami wasn't in the mood to hear any more. He closed the chat box immediately, without even telling Joey goodbye. It was just too much to take! Yami couldn't even comprehend how Joey could talk that way about him, behind his back, to this _stranger_… even if he wasn't really stranger.

On his side, Joey tried to contact Atemu, but he couldn't. He wondered what was wrong, was the internet signal weak in Atemui's area? He waited for more than a half hour, but nothing happened. Joey decided to go to his next lecture and worry about Atemu later He also couldn't forget about Yami's problem too. He'd have to talk to him and find out what was bothering his friend.

* * *

Later that day, when Joey retuned home, he saw Yami sitting on the living room couch, apparently waiting for him, and seething in anger.

"Oh, hi Yami. I wanted to talk to you actually."

"Really? It's a wonder even managed to see me!"

"What do you mean?" Joey asked, still clueless.

"I thought I was too short to even be noticed! But oh!" Yami's eyes widened, in mock surprise. "It must be that my _crazy_ hair that caught your eye!"

Now it was Joey's eyes that widened as his mind processed Yami's accusations. "_Atemu!_" he hissed.

* * *

End of chapter 13 ... Please tell me what you think of the story so far...


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks to JollyBigSis for editing the chapter and for Blue September for re-editng it, you' guys are amazing :)

I don't own YGO

**Bold font is the chat between Yami and Kaiba**

Chapter 14

* * *

"_Atemu?"_ Joey hissed. He couldn't believe it, but it all made sense when he put the pieces together. He waited for confirmation, which was swift in coming.

"Yes," Yami retorted, affirming Joey's suspicion with a little laugh before sobering up. "You're right. Funny isn't it? To be caught by the very person you were criticizing behind his back!"

Joey didn't say a word; the shock was beyond his comprehension. Why would Yami do that-to make him live a lie? Was Yami playing with him to entertain himself? What would have happened if he'd fallen for him?

Hurt and anger burned inside Joey and it manifested clearly on his agonized face. However, that didn't prevent Yami from continuing his taunts.

"But of course you'll be the only one not finding it funny, right?" Yami fumed, running his fingers through his hair in agitation, and pushing the locks away from his eyes.

"I can't believe you did this!" Joey finally managed to say through clenched teeth, his voice punctuating through the dreadful silence. He was struggling to sound calm despite the anger that was threatening to rise from within him.

Unaffected by the glare Joey was giving him, Yami continued. "I wonder what your friends would say," he mocked. "What would Tristan say? 'Oh, Joey, you were making a fool of yourself!'" he mimicked. "I'm sure he'd be rolling on the floor laughing if he heard of it. You can imagine what you'd look like in other people's eyes!" Yami was merciless with his cruel imagery.

"You're unbelievable!" Joey growled at his friend's sarcastic demeanor.

"_I'm_ unbelievable?" he asked incredulously. "_I _am?" he repeated, walking towards the other until they were standing directly face-to-face. "You started talking about me to a complete stranger, who you barely knew, for how long? Two days? …For a few minutes each day? And the subjects were things that you knew very well annoyed me!" Yami was relentless as he poked his finger hard into Joey's chest. "And you call _me_ unbelievable!"

Slapping Yami's hands way, Joey hissed, "Don't point your damn finger at me like that."

"I'll point my finger however I want," Yami challenged, poking Joey again.

Deciding to act maturely and not encourage more unreasonable behavior from Yami, Joey stepped back to avoid further contact, folding his arms over his chest. "Why did you do it?" he asked.

Yami shook his head stubbornly, "No, you answer me first, Joey. Who's unbelievable?"

Joey looked at his agitated friend and sighed. _This is getting nowhere,_ he thought resignedly before deciding to end the conversation and return to his room. Joey began to turn away from Yami.

"Hey, don't walk away while I am talking to you!" Yami shouted, grabbing Joey's arm forcing the blonde to look at him again; but Joey managed to snatch his arm away from the grip and continued on his way to his room.

"You want to know why?" Yami yelled at the retreating figure. "Fine, I'll tell you why! It's because I wanted to help you! You were acting like a pathetic loser who couldn't do anything more than talk about his imaginaryboyfriend all the time!" Yami was breathing heavily by the time he had finished delivering the sentence… then he realized what he'd said.

Joey halted his steps midway.

Yami gasped as he rushed towards his friend. "Oh God! Joey! I'm sorry, so sorry!" He held onto Joey fearfully.

"Sorry for what? For telling me the truth?" snorted Joey, "I didn't know you saw me like that." The blonde paused in thought before continuing, "Actually, people usually say what's really on their minds when they're angry, so thanks for letting me know what you really think of me."

This caused Yami to panic in earnest. "Joey please, those comments came out at the spur of the moment. I was just angry… _please_…" Yami trailed off when he found nothing else to say. By then, Joey had removed Yami's hand in gentler manner and instead of going to his room as planned; he left the apartment.

Yami sighed in despair as silence ensued. He had failed miserably to convince his friend of his good intentions and now he was sitting on the couch brooding over what he could do to fix the mess. He needed to find a solution soon and he wholeheartedly wished there was someone who could advise him. He could ask Tristan as he was a friend to both of them, but Yami loathed the idea of having to him put him in a situation where he'd be forced to take sides. There was Tea too, but they barely knew her so that was out of the question. In addition, he couldn't turn to Yuugi and Grandpa as he wouldn't want to trouble them with his problems so…

_Seto!_

A little voice inside his head called out. Could he talk with Seto, perhaps? He didn't consider him a good friend after discovering his lies but Yami had to admit that the CEO had a certain way with words and he did know how to make one feel better-sometimes. Besides, with the lack of better candidates and the need to discuss the available options with someone, Yami was becoming increasingly desperate.

Without another thought, Yami quickly turned on the computer and proceeded to the dating site, opening a conversation with Seto as soon as he was logged in.

'**Hello, Blue Eyes,**' he wrote.

'**What a surprise at this unexpected hour,**' Kaiba replied. It was true. Yami would usually chat with Seto in the afternoon, not in the evening as he was doing now.

'**Is there a problem? I mean, is this an inconvenient time for you?'**

'**Not at all… Why? Is there something wrong?**'

Yami was relieved that Kaiba wasn't busy. He needed to get the stress off his chest as soon as possible so he started writing immediately. '**I'm very tired and I can't seem to think straight. I've just had a fight with my best friend and now he's left the apartment**.'

'**Why is that?**'

'**I said some things I shouldn't have and now I don't know if he'll ever forgive me.**'

'**You said he's your "best friend", so he'll forgive you.**'

It wasn't that simple, Yami knew, no matter how he looked at it. Maybe it was because Kaiba didn't know what he was like or what he and Joey meant to each other. Besides the CEO had no idea how cruel his words had been.

'**I don't know about that. We've never fought like this before. The only consolation is he didn't decide to pack up his things and leave forever**.'

'**He can't. Where would he go? I'd say he'll come back**.'

Yami shook his head, '**I just don't know anymore. I hope he'll listen to me and accept my apology.**'

'**Why? What you did you say to him?**' asked Kaiba.

'**Oh, that's a long story.' **Yami was reluctant to explain what he'd said to Joey, but he knew he had to if he wanted some honest advice. '**He was talking to a potential love interest and I accidentally found out that the person asked about me and why Joey didn't see me as a potential boyfriend. The reason Joey gave was because I was short. Imagine, this was in their very first conversation. I don't like to be described as being "short" especially to someone who doesn't even know me-I was hurt by the casual way he was talking about me. It also made me wonder what he was saying to the rest of my friends behind my back.**'

'**I'm sure he didn't tell them anything.**'

"Hn?" Yami arched a quizzical brow. What was Kaiba saying? '**What?**' he wrote back.

'**Your friend didn't reject you as a lover because **_**you**_** were short. His problem is with shortness itself and not with you.**'

Kaiba's answer did not eliminate Yami's puzzlement. '**What are you saying?**'

'**He can't bottom for someone shorter than him-the problem is him not you. You just didn't notice it because you were too upset about the subject to read between the lines.**'

Yami's confusion doubled at this point. '**I still don't get it**,' he wrote.

'**For God sake, Yami! It's obvious! Joey can never top and it'll embarrass him if his lover is shorter than him. That's all there is to it!**'

"What? Oh, not again! You knew!" groaned Yami in wide-eyed disbelief after reading Kaiba's message. That man was different for sure. '**Look, I'm too tired to even try to analyze how you knew it was me.**'

'…**And there I thought you'd figure out that using the same IP address as the last account would get you busted. But it's better than you denying your identity again so there's an improvement.**' Kaiba wrote smugly.

"IP?" whispered Yami in confusion; he never saw such disclosures on the site. '**What? Are the IP addresses available for the members to see too? I didn't notice them.**'

'**No, it's only for the admins. They use it to prevent multiple accounts being made from the same IP address so it can't be used to cheat or manipulate other members. Once such discrepancy has been detected, the accounts will be deactivated and permanently deleted. Of course, there was a warning about it in the site's rules, I just happen to know the owner of the site so when your IP was reported to have two accounts, I asked him not to delete them.**'

Yami blinked, his face blank for a moment before breaking into a smile, '**Is there anything in the world you don't know?**'

'**Yes, how to make a spaceship.'**

"Very funny," said Yami rolling his eyes at the comment. '**Oh, believe me, **_**that's**_** a surprise.**'

'**I think you've had enough surprises today, no need for another one.**'

Yami couldn't help but agree. '**You're right**,' he wrote thoughtfully. '**Has anyone told you that you're unbelievable?**' he began to write… until he recalled how he and Joey got into a fight over the same words. '**You're unbelievable-I mean, in a good way**,' he rewrote.

'**I know**,' Kaiba replied modestly.

'**And you? Weren't you surprised when you knew that I'd returned with another account?**'

'**In fact, I was a bit suspicious at first. You didn't seem that type to do such things. But I have to say, it was more fun the second time 'round, as your feelings were revealed completely.**'

Taken aback by the statement, Yami reflected on his behavior as 'Atemu'. True, he _was _bolder but he acted that way in order to push the other to talk more; it was nothing more. Yami bristled at the false accusation. '**What's that suppose to mean?**' he asked.

'**Do you not remember what you told me…? Or would like me to remind you? You said we will get along well and that we will end up together. Do I have to say more?**'

Knitting his brow in contemplation, he thought about Kaiba's words. Then the meaning hit him-he couldn't believe what the other was hinting. '**Wait! Did you think I created this account for **_**your**_** sake?**' he asked astonished.

'**Yes and it was very amusing! Of course, I wanted to prolong the fun before I revealed the truth to you, but there was no point in delaying the inevitable. I wanted to know you better on a personal level and it appears you were eager too. After all, you created the second account after disappearing from the first**.'

Yami gaped in astonishment at the audacity of the statement.

'**No, I wanted to help Joey find a suitable partner and you just happened to be there!**'

'**Yeah, yeah. Again with the "helping your friend" bullshit,**' was the infuriating reply.

'**What? You don't believe me?**' asked the exasperated Yami.

'**No!**'

'**So you really think I started this account to talk to you?**'

'**Yes!**'

'**That's not true! Our chats were coincidental!**'

'**Yeah, keep telling yourself that.**'

Yami stared at the last sentence; he knew he could never convince Kaiba otherwise. He was, after all, extremely opinionated especially over matters he believed was true. Still, the foremost concern for Yami was Kaiba's intentions. Was the CEO fooling around with him again? The former was lost in his thoughts when he remembered a pressing issue. '**What about you?**' he wrote back.

'**What about me? I still find you interesting, if that's what you're asking.**'

'**No, I mean would you mind bottoming for someone shorter than you?**'

'…**To you?**' Kaiba asked back.

Feeling the heat rise to his cheeks from the intimacy of the subject, along with being questioned by someone he'd never met before, Yami felt flustered. Since he had always insisted on playing the non-interested party, Yami forced himself to say in a nonchalant way, '**No, I meant in general.**'

'**Then you have to be more specific in your question so I can answer it. There's no answer to your question if it's "general" like this.**' Yami grimaced at Kaiba's deliberate evasiveness on the matter.

'**I really wasn't referring to anyone in particular.**'

'**Then I can't answer it. But I'll let you in on a little secret…**'

Becoming cynical about what Kaiba had in store for him, Yami asked warily, '**What is it?**'

'**I do have a thing for short people writhing under me,**' confessed Kaiba.

Yami let out the breath he was holding and laughed-he definitely wasn't expecting that though he wasn't going to admit it either-not to Kaiba, of all people. Therefore, he wrote, '**I kind of half expected that.**'

'**How come?**'

'**I thought you had a thing for people writhing beneath you, but short people! That's new.**'

Kaiba sent a 'rolling eyes' smiley face in response but Yami could sense the amusement behind the icon as the former continued… '**Now onto the important question-when will we meet?**'

Yami smiled, he knew he couldn't change Seto's mind, so why tire himself out with the effort. At least he knew the latter wasn't lying and whether he liked it or not, Yami couldn't deny the fact that he was attracted to the pompous man. It was just awkward having to admit it. Besides, it was so much easier to act elusive and leave the instigating to Kaiba; so he wrote, '**I don't know.**'

'**How about now?**' Kaiba demanded.

'**Now? I don't think so. I didn't tell Joey about us, not to mention I haven't made up with him either. I need more time.**'

'**Okay, you have today and tomorrow to fix things and if you can't, I'll talk to him. I still have his cell number, you know.**'

_Oh no!_ Yami thought-he knew that it wouldn't be a good thing for Kaiba to talk with Joey especially at a time like this. '**Don't! I'll do it myself.**'

'**Okay. But for now, give me your phone number.**'

"Ummm…" Yami shrugged. "Okay," he said to himself and proceeded to type in the number; they ended chat shortly after with one particular side immensely satisfied with the outcome.

* * *

Later that evening, Yami's phone rang… it was Tristan.

"Hello, Tristan," greeted Yami.

"Hey Yami, how are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. What's up?"

"Well, I just wanted to tell you that Joey's gonna sleep over at mine's tonight so don't worry if he doesn't come home. I figured you'd know where he was."

Yami was relieved that Joey was with Tristan. "Thanks Tristan. Can I talk to him, please?"

"Well… ummm, you see, I don't know how to say this. Joey's upset about something, he didn't say what but he told me not to tell you that he was at my place. I just thought you should know anyway, so you wouldn't worry about him."

Yami was saddened by the news but he had to respect Joey's wish and Tristan's goodwill. "Okay then," was his deflated reply.

"Sorry Yami," replied Tristan ruefully.

"You shouldn't be. Thanks for letting me know."

"Hey, no sweat. Take care."

"You too, bye…" murmured Yami as he hung up the phone. This was not what he had anticipated. He was hoping to be given a chance to reconcile with Joey, to end this fight and be friends again—to return to how it was before, but it seemed luck was not on his side. Furthermore, with that problem aside, he had to think about how things would affect him and Joey now that Kaiba was involved. He was already dreading the next day and its uncertainties.

With those foreboding thoughts threatening him, Yami threw himself on the couch again with a feeling of uneasiness and a gloomy disposition—his life had just got a lot more complicated by the looks of it.

* * *

End of chapter 14 ... Please tell me what you think of the story so far... I don't know when the next update will be, I didn't write anything yet...


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks to JollyBigSis for editing the chapter and adding more description to it, you added more depth to the story. You are amazing :)

**There will be no bold font in this chapter for the chat between Yami and Kaiba becuase they stopped using virtual tools, cool isn't it? ;)**

I don't own YGO

Chapter 15

* * *

"You're not cool at all!" The shorter male shouted angrily.

"That's 'cos I gave it up for you! So _you_ could look cool!" the other answered back, equally angry. This wasn't how he planned their reconciliation to be—the situation just slipped out of control.

"_What?_ I offered you a free place to stay and this is how you repay me?"

"If I could travel back in time, I'd choose _not_ to see your face. Now I curse the moment I agreed sharing the place with you!"

"In that case who's preventing you from gathering your stuff and going back to the street—where you belong!"

"I will, and it'll be much better than here!"

"Fine! And don't forget to say 'Hi' to the devil whilst you are there."

"I can't, since the devil lives here!"

Yami laughed, amused with his favorite television show that he and Joey watched each morning, "I never get bored from seeing those two fight, isn't that right Joe?" The laugh faded into a miserable sigh when he saw the empty side of the couch beside him. There was no fun sitting here by himself without Joey. They used to laugh together, eat together and do pretty much everything together. He wondered if Joey was feeling the same. If yes, why didn't he call and tell him that he felt awkward and lonely too?

Unfortunately, things weren't that simple.

Unable to continue with the show, Yami got up to prepare something to eat. It was pathetic and meaningless to keep laughing whilst pretending that his buddy was here sharing the fun with him. It simply wasn't the same, Yami thought sadly as he shuffled to the kitchen.

On the way, he paused by the phone, contemplating what to do. After a brief moment of hesitation, he picked it up and dialed a number and waited…

"Hello." The person on the other end answered.

"H-hello Seto," Yami said. It felt a little weird; as this was the first time he spoke with Kaiba, to hear his voice as opposed to communicating soundlessly in front of the computer.

"Yami?" Kaiba asked, sensing the slight clumsiness in Yami's voice.

"Yeah," confirmed Yami, recovering quickly from his relapse. "How are you? I didn't expect to find you awake so early."

"Actually, I haven't slept yet." Kaiba answered.

"Then you'd better go and get some rest." Yami chided, not surprised by the amount of work Kaiba was doing. After all, maintaining the renowned gaming company as number one in the country would require tremendous effort.

"I can't, not for another three hours but don't worry I am used to it," explained Kaiba through a suppressed yawn. "What about you? Did you talk with your friend?"

"Ah-Umm…not yet…but I will." Yami said as he proceeded to the kitchen. "I'm gonna see him today.'

"Good to hear that. Are you in the university now?"

"No," Yami replied, opening the fridge and bending down to search through it. "I'm home, trying to find some food."

"Check out the expiry date before consuming anything," Kaiba advised.

Yami was holding a carton of pasteurized milk. Crimson eyes gave a quick glance at the bottom of the box and discover the product had expired two days ago. The milk should go the garbage instead of his stomach.

"Thanks, Doctor Kaiba," chuckled Yami putting aside the milk. Now he had to eat the cereal dry.

"I don't want you to get sick before our date," was the reply.

"You really wish to see me that much?" Yami teased with a grin, wanting the other to admit it even though he was well aware that that would never happen.

"That's because I am curious about you, I know nothing about you but you know all about me. It's not fair!"

"Well, it's not my fault that you're famous," Yami protested, keeping the tone playful as he poured some cornflakes into a bowl and shifting to the table to eat.

"I'm sure that you're famous in your school!" Kaiba shot back, skillfully hiding the feeling of annoyance as he recalled Joey telling him that lots of people hit on Yami everyday.

"That doesn't count," Yami answered, taking his first mouthful of cereal.

"Anyway, when is the best time for you to go out? I need to check my schedule."

"I don't know. If things go so well with Joe, then I'd like to make it this week. I can't go on weekends because the final exams are very close."

_Well, the sooner the better_, Kaiba thought eagerly. "Wait, are you eating now?"

"Yep!" replied Yami, shoving another spoonful in his mouth. "Did you have your breakfast, by the way?"

"Yeah. I had a coffee."

"Coffee on an empty stomach?" Yami frowned; his spoon paused in mid-air. "Do you know that you'll get an ulcer in record time if you keep doing that?"

"That's if I don't _already_ have one! But thanks for the advice, Doctor Motou."

Yami rolled his eyes, smiling. "That's common knowledge, genius," he chuckled as he finished off his breakfast.

"Regardless. Let's get back to the subject of our date! If you plan to have our meeting this week, I will need to make a reservation soon. Is there a specific place you have in mind?"

"No. As long as it's in a quiet and crowd-free location, I'm okay with it."

"Then I know the perfect place!"

"Huh? Where?"

"My _bedroom!"_

"Ah," Yami groaned. He should have known Kaiba would start those comments sooner or later, even if it was a mere joke, "Seto! I'm serious."

"So am I," he replied.

* * *

"Man! I almost freaked out!" Tristan told Joey as they walked to university the next day. "You should, at least, warn me."

"I didn't know that I would be _that_ late. Besides, the last I checked, I'm not a five year old kid!" huffed Joey, annoyed that everyone seemed to be acting motherly around him lately; first Yami and now Tristan.

When Joey arrived at Tristan's place the night before, he had forgotten to bring some reference books from the local library for his assignment so he had to hurry back there to get them before it closed. It took him forever to return to Tristan's place afterwards.

"Chill out, dude! I was worried about you 'cos you had been gone forever, that's all!" Tristan pointed out, noticing his friend wasn't in the mood to accept advice and behavioral lectures.

"Whatever!" Joey muttered, vexed that he was about to lose his temper and take his anger out on his friend. Tristan had nothing to do with his quarrel with Yami.

"Oh, look who's there," Tristan exclaimed as they entered the university's main gate and saw their new friend, Tea. "Tea!" he called, waving.

"Hey guys," she responded cheerfully as she made her way towards them through the crowd of the students.

"How's it going?" Tristan asked.

"Fine, thanks."

"Hey Tea! I'm sorry for leaving in a rush yesterday." Joey said, realizing that he wouldn't need to anymore—at least, not for the same reason.

"It's okay," she giggled, "I don't want to keep you from your business. So when's your first lecture?"

"In two hours' time. I only have the one lecture today since most lecturers have finished teaching their courses, giving us a two week break before the finals."

"Ah!" wailed Tea at the thought of her unfortunate schedule. "How lucky you are! Professor Jerald and Professor Sen will keep teaching until the very last day, not giving us a break."

"That sucks," said Tristan.

Shortly after, Yami appeared. "Hey!" he greeted brightly. "I heard you guys complaining about the teachers; it must be Professor Sen, right?"

"You're right," Tea chuckled, happy that Yami had arrived.

"He's scaring all the students in this university. I wonder what does he accomplish by doing that?" said Tristan thoughtfully.

"Sorry guys," interrupted Joey, his voice tense and underlined with a trace of bitterness, his trembling fists clenched by his side—obviously trying to contain his inner rage. "I don't feel like staying," he declared.

"Stay, man! You don't have anything for the next two hours!" coaxed Tristan.

"Joey…" Yami murmured softly. But Joey had already turned and began walking away from them.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Tristan asked, puzzled by his friends' actions as he watched Joey leave. Then he looked back at Yami and stated, "Yesterday, you left when he came. And today, it's him!"

Yami gave a troubled sigh—this wasn't how he intended it to be. Admittedly, Joey needed time to cool down, but how long must he wait before all's well again?

* * *

The school day ended and Yami returned to his apartment, calling out for Joey when he arrived despite knowing his friend was not there. The overwhelming silence proved it. The same could be said about that morning, Yami hated the feeling of emptiness that surrounded him; it made him very lonely. He went to Joey's room, checking to ensure the occupant hadn't come home while he was out and took his things.

Thankfully, everything was still there, meaning Joey would return sooner or later. Then, just as Yami had predicted, Joey showed up—making a hasty retreat to his room and avoiding the shorter male.

"Joey!" Yami pursues immediately whilst calling out to him.

Ignoring Yami, Joey crosses his room to the closet, grabs a bag and starts gathering his things.

"Joey! What are you doing?" Yami knew what it was, but could not believe it. He thought that they could overcome every obstacle that was in the way of their friendship. However, this was just too much—this was going too far!

"I'm not staying here anymore." Joey replied, removing clothes from the closet.

"No! Joey, listen to me please!" pleaded Yami to his irate friend.

"I did that the whole time," the blond shot back. "Now it's time to change, don't you think?"

"_Please_ Joey," Yami warily inched closer to Joey until he was standing before him. Holding onto his left arm in an attempt to prevent his companion from adding more to his bag, he looked at him beseechingly, "I'll do anything… so will you forgive me, _please?_ I really missed you, Joe."

Joey looked back at Yami. He did not inform Yami that he had missed him too and Yami wasn't expecting him to either. However, Joey did not reject him and that, itself, was an improvement; it encouraged Yami to say more. "Look, you have every right to be angry with me—hell, you _must_ be! I admit what I did was wrong, but you didn't get the full picture of the situation either. To be honest, I wasn't quite myself; I had hidden away part of the truth because I was afraid that you'd hate me for it if you found out." Yami looked away and hung his head shamefully.

"Afraid of telling me what, Yami? That I'm a desperate loser? Thanks, I know that already."

"No Joey, you're not!" Looking up again, Yami's eyes begged for understanding, adding, "I'm the desperate loser here."

"Nice try," Joey said, attempting to gently remove Yami's hand from his arm but to no avail. The latter refused to let go and held on tighter.

"It's true, Joey! In fact, there was this guy I knew from _your_ account whom I thought I could forget about but I was wrong! In truth, I created the other account to talk with you but, at the same time, I wanted to talk with him too."

Joey paused momentarily to reflect on what Yami said he had done. "What are you talking about? When did you chat from my account?" he asked curiously.

"Oh no!" objected Yami, afraid that Joey was going to think he was using the account to entertain himself without permission, "You know this guy! I mean we both know this guy."

"What? You mean…" Joey trailed off, his eyes narrowing whilst brooding over who _that_ person could be.

Yami nodded; there was no point of denying or even postponing the truth anymore.

"_Seto?"_ Joey asked hesitantly, as he sought confirmation.

"Don't get mad! I tried to push him away but it didn't work and…" Yami stopped, not knowing what else to say.

"Interesting," Joey's surprised face finally broke into a smile—or a smirk to be precise.

"You're not mad?" Yami asked incredulously, still embarrassed from the whole thing.

"Mad?" Joey laughed heartily. "Why should I be? There wasn't anything between him and me to begin with; it was _you_ he was talking to all along. It's obvious he likes you and not me so why should I get in the way? I only find it strange coming from Mister I-don't-believe-in-virtual-dating!"

Yami blushed furiously; he figured that Joey would nail that subject for sure.

"I'm really happy for you, Yami." Joey smiled wholeheartedly. It was enough to make Yami's eyes danced with joy that he couldn't prevent himself from wrapping his arms around Joey's waist in a tight hug.

"Does this mean we are friends again?" asked the persistent male, wanting to hear the affirmation from Joey lips.

Joey returned the warm embrace. "We've never been anything else," he replied with a smile.

"So…are you screwing each other now?" Joey asked when they finally parted.

"What! We haven't even met yet! The date is probably this week and I don't know what to wear!" Yami wailed.

At that remark, Joey grinned slyly, "Why don't you wear your birthday suit for him? Knowing him, he'd love the idea." (1)

The comment reminded Yami of what he told Joey when he had a date with Kaiba and Yami gasped aloud. Refusing to react negatively, not when they just made up; Yami let Joey have his moment, knowing someday, he would definitely get him back for it! But for now, he could only offer to Joey help return his things to where they belonged.

* * *

End of chapter 15 ... Please tell me what you think of the story so far...

(1) If you still remember in the sixth chapter when Joey told Yami that he was not sure about what to wear and he was thinking of a suit then Yami commented at once the he can wear his birthday suit ... well! Joey didn't forget it and he used it in the right time ;) revenge is so sweet :D ... poor Yami.

Okay, now I only have two chapters left and don't worry I wrote them, they need editing only... And yes! The next chapter will be Kaiba and Yami's date :D at last!


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks to BlueSeptember for editing the chapter. You are amazing :)

**No bold font in this chapter, there's no chat between Yami and Kaiba. Not any more, cool isn't it? ;)**

I don't own YGO

Chapter 16

* * *

"Say it again?" Joey demanded, eyes growing wide, as he tried to prevent his lips from flexing. Yami realized that his friend was struggling not to laugh. The whole situation was embarrassing enough and Joey wasn't helping.

"Joey!" The ruby-eyed boy warned. He wanted to get past the subject as soon as possible before he regretted telling the other about his date.

"I can't believe it Yami! What do you mean the date is gonna be at his house?"

Yami wondered if this was a test of his patience or a punishment for some evil he'd done in the past. He knew what Joey would think, so he had to explain further, despite his rising discomfort. "The date is today! He won't be able to get a reservation, at a good place in one day."

"Are you kidding? He can buy the restaurant if he wants! Hell! People will do anything to please customers like him."

"Still, the mansion is quieter and nicer place," Yami weakly defended.

"Quieter? What about the dozens of maids and servants, his employees and his brother?"

"Seto is giving them the day off. And as for Mokuba, he'll be going to a friend's house."

Joey just kept staring at Yami, not buying a word of what he said. "He's after your ass, don't you think?"

"He wasn't after yours before!" Yami shot back, reminding Joey of how Kaiba had treated him before, and irritated that they were still arguing about the whole thing. He was suffering from a load of pressure that day. He'd forgotten to bring his suit back to the store, since the suit needed to be adjusted a little, and in a few hours, Kaiba would be sending a car to bring him to the mansion.

"Alright, Alright… do whatever you like." A devious smirk crept unto the blond's face, "just remember! Be yourself. Don't overreact. It's okay to tell him that he's sexy, gorgeous, or anything like that but don't over flatter him. And oh," Joey stopped when he remembered more from the exact tips Yami gave him on his date with Kaiba, "don't over flatter yourself either." (1)

The blond laughed as he heard Yami muttering, '_Asshole'_. He liked to tease Yami like this, especially since Yami had done the same.

"Thanks for the advice Mr. dating-expert, and when he goes for the salt-shaker, I'll try to kiss him!" Yami, who was busy wearing his clothes, answered hoping to put Joey off the mood a bit.

"You little! You promised not to bring that up!" Joey instantly got angry.

"Sorry Joe. You brought it up first," said Yami, sliding the hem of the sleeveless kaki shirt into the black leather pants.

"Whatever!" Joey gave up, not wanting to talk about that now.

"Joe!" Yami came to his friend, sitting beside him, sounding apologetic, "I didn't mean it, but I'm really nervous! That's it. Please don't take what I say today seriously. My mind is going through a load of shit! I don't know if he'll like me! If I'm his type, or how the date is gonna be!"

Joey regretted the way he'd spoken to his friend now after realizing how he was suffering inside. "You idiot!" Joey said idly, not showing his concerned tone. Yami's eyes widened as the former continued, "He'll definitely like you. He'll drool the moment he sees you! "

Yami smiled, "Thanks Joey!" getting up and looking around. "Where is my cell phone?"

"I put it on your study table beside your wallet so you won't forget it like you always do."

"Okay." Yami went to his room and put his shoes on to take back the suit he'd bought the day before. He'd be cutting it close, since he had to come back to the apartment to change, hoping the Kaiba's car wouldn't arrive before that.

"I'm going Joey. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Joey said then Yami left. The blond didn't know what to do and how to distract himself of thinking how this day would end up, he turned on the T.V and started switching between the channels, and finally he settled watching a reality show about two families left on an island. Reality shows were his favorite, so this was the best distraction form thinking the worst especially after what Yami had told him! It wasn't him. But again, this was like a blind date, as least from Kaiba's side since he didn't know Yami, and the blond was afraid that this might affect Yami's confidence like what happened with him. Joey ruffled his hair violently trying to remove the bad thoughts, reminding himself that Yami could adapt to any situation, and today shouldn't be different.

The show ended after an hour, and Joey didn't know what to do. He wasn't in the mood to watch more T.V. He picked up his phone calling Yami to find out if his friend had reached the mall or what. A few seconds passed before he heard the ringing coming from Yami's room! Joey ran to there to find not only the cell phone forgotten, but also the wallet.

* * *

"No Sir! I didn't con you!" Yami defended himself in front of the cab driver.

"Then pay me my money," the old man, quarreled harshly, irritated by the recent immorality of people these days.

Yami, from the back seat, wiped the little droplets of spit that had landed on his face, smiling nervously. "I'll tell you how this happened, and you'll laugh, believe me!"

"You're not going to give me my money?"

"That's the problem. I always forget my cell phone, and now I forget my wallet. But this is the first time." Yami's laugh ended when he saw no change in the rough expression from the other man. He had to find a better solution. "Listen! Why don't you wait until I go to this store and when I finish, take me home again, and there I'll pay you."

"Do I look like a dull to you?"

"No," Yami shook his head.

"You fooled me once, and I'll make sure you won't repeat it. You just messed with the wrong man!" The man turned his head straightforward, hitting on the accelerator hard, driving away at a manic speed.

"Where are you taking me?" Yami asked, looking around as they started moving away from the shopping center.

"To Hell!" The driver replied, without hesitation.

"What?" Yami gasped.

"I wish I could take you and all the likes of you there."

"Look! This is dangerous."

"Guess again!" The old man became angrier, increasing the speed even more, causing Yami to clutch the seatbelt like his life depended on it. The car kept speeding passing allies that Yami, who remained silent not wanting to provoke the other anymore, was seeing for the first time. And it seemed like forever when they stopped.

"Get out!" The older man ordered.

"Where am I?"

"In the other side of the town, go back on foot. This will give you a plenty of time to think about your scam. God only knows how many people you've done this to!" The man lectured before leaving Yami in the middle of a neglected road, not knowing where exactly he was. It was too much to handle, Yami collapsed on the ground screaming, "My date is ruined."

* * *

"What do you mean he's gone missing?" Kaiba asked Joey over the phone.

"I don't know. The problem is that I can't reach him, his phone and money are here. He went to a nearby place. Even if he walked, he should be home by now!" Joey explained, after passing about four hours from Yami's leaving, and Kaiba's driver would to get him soon. "I'll to go to clothing store and try to find him, I only wanted to tell you that, because your driver might come and not find anyone here."

"No wait, I'll be with you in a few minutes. Just find a picture of him." Kaiba said closing the phone.

It didn't take so long until Kaiba reached Yami's place, with a team of people Joey though that they were an army first, they kept coming the one after the other until the apartment became to small for more.

"Woah, who are they?"

"My security team. Now where's his picture?" Kaiba firmly demanded.

"Oh yes, here it's." Joey handed the photo to the man in charge and when the later took a look at it his eyes widened in a strange manner.

"He's …"

"What? Have you seen him while you're on the road?" Joey asked, thinking that Kaiba must have known something that was why he looked surprised when he saw Yami in the picture.

"No."

"Then have you seen him before?"

"No."

"Did he look like someone you know?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"He's drop dead gorgeous!" Kaiba said, still looking at the photo. "We have to hurry and find him."

Kaiba gave the photo to his team, ordering them to stop every cap they saw and asking the drivers about Yami after making copies of the picture. He told them to also ask regular people they saw, and to check with stores that Yami visited regularly and go through their security footage. He told another group from his team to check the outside camera video surveillances if they could, to identify the cab Yami was in.

* * *

Yami aimlessly was walking, trying to figure out what Seto might think of him now. The CEO had probably already gone to the apartment and hadn't found him! How would he explain this to Kaiba later? He didn't know. The fusillade of questions kept coming to his head till he reached a high road, and the idea of stopping a passing car sounded good to him if he didn't want to have swelling feet.

Lifting his thumb he prayed for luck, which hadn't been on his side that day, to smile at him again. Yami's hopes came true when a silver Camry stopped.

"Hi." He greeted first.

"Hi," a middle-aged woman greeted back.

"Can you please take me to the university area?"

"Oh, sorry my dear. I'm not headed to the city."

Yami chortled slightly.

"I'm really sorry." She repeated her apology.

"Oh no! You shouldn't," Yami pointed out immediately, regretting his lack of manners in front of that lady, she was nice enough to stop for him. "Thanks any way."

"It's okay, good luck," she said driving away.

The tiredness started to slow him down. Yami had never walked like this his whole life. What else he could do except trying to stop another car? Escalade this time.

The driver seat's window rolled down revealing a man in his mid-thirties, wearing a black mesh t-shirt and whatever appeared of a skin was covered in tattoos up his neck, and his ear on Yami's side had four earrings.

"Hey," the man in tattoos greeted, chewing a gum.

"Hi."

"Going somewhere?"

"Yeah."

"Then what're you waiting? Hop in."

"Shouldn't you know where first?" Yami asked, starting to feel creepy from the other's weird generosity.

"Doesn't matter."

"What if you're not going my way?"

"Then I'll make it your way." He winked, "come in."

"Look! I don't have money now, but when I reach ho-"

"Who said anything about money?" The man pouted as if his pride was hurt.

"I can't take a help for free."

"And who said it'll be a free ride?" at that moment his optimistic glare descended to Yami's waste "You have a nice body though, so…" the words fell from his lips leaving the rest for Yami to understand.

"Oh nooooooooooooooo! You are definitely mistaken!" Yami squirmed, taking a few steps backward. Like hell!

"Come on, I'll show you _heaven_." The Escalade driver argued. Looking at Yami as a big catch at the end of the day. "Well," he took a piece of paper and wrote something on it before handing it Yami. "If you change your mind, this is my phone number. Call me. Bye hottie." He sent a flying kiss toward the spiky haired boy before pulling off.

"Ah, if I had my cell, I wouldn't have stopped you!" Yami winced, not wanting to stop anymore cars. He'd had enough. Therefore he started walking again, his stomach was screaming too from hunger, but food was the least concern for him that moment. _Why did this have to happen today?_ He asked himself.

The sun began to say her farewell to that laborious day, and Yami was still wandering in the streets not knowing where he was or where he could stay if the night darkened!

At some point, Yami thought that the tiredness started to affect his sanity when he thought that he heard Joey's voice calling him. The calls started becoming louder and louder with each passing second, and when Yami turned around he didn't believe himself, seeing his friend in a taxi, emerging his upper half out of the window shouting for him.

"Joey!" Yami rubbed his eyes. It would be a ruthless joke if this was just in head.

"Hey man!" The cab reached Yami. And Joey instantly got out of the car.

"Joey! Oh, I'm so happy to see you!" he told the blond before his eyes drifted to the yellow car. "It's you!" Yami recognized the driver. He was the same man who he'd ridden with several hours ago.

"Hello boy! Seems, you were being honest. Anyway, This should be a useful lesson so you won't forget your stuff again," the man smiled.

"You can actually smile?" Yami's eyes widened, recalling his failed attempts in making him relent when he rode with him.

"Good bye," he said before driving away.

"You okay man?" asked Joey and Yami nodded.

"We still have a date, I suppose." A loud voice cut through the air. And when the tri-colored male turned his head, his eyebrows arched in a wonderment seeing Kaiba standing a few steps away. A smirk crept on his lips as he approached Yami.

"See ya later." Joey whispered before leaving with the rest of the security giving the two their privacy even if it was on a public street.

"Seto!" Yami didn't plan for any of this to happen for sure, while he was still wearing his regular clothes, late, and exhausted.

"Finally!" Kaiba breathed. Looking without a blink, the guy before him would never even dream of.

"Ah Seto, I …" Yami began when his stomach cried in agony once more. "I'm hungry," he said shrugging.

"Well, if you came earlier, the food would still hot in my home."

"Yeah, you're right. It's absolutely my fault." Yami growled, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I always imagined that you would be adorable when get pissed, I only wanted to see in real life," Kaiba winked, while Yami looked slightly confused.

"Come on! Let's get something to eat. It'll take more than two hours to get home." Kaiba offered his hand that Yami accepted it without hesitation, feeling the brunet's thumb pressing gently against his skin. The soothing motion gave Yami a partial feeling of relief before they split again to ride in each side of the car.

"I saw a fast food restaurant here somewhere."

"Look! Here it is." Kaiba went in and ordered two meals of hamburger, french fries, salad, and a drink.

The couple found a side road where they parked the car, sitting beside each other, eating their food.

"Hmm, by the way!" Yami swallowed a bite of his burger, "What was the food you prepared for me?"

"I didn't prepare anything! That was my chef." Kaiba answered smugly.

Yami chuckled, "Okay then, what did the chef do?"

"Something," the taller male bantered.

"Whatever it was, it won't beat the taste of potato with ketchup!" Yami stated.

"I don't like ketchup."

"Oh really?" Yami asked, looking at the untouched amount of the red sauce in Kaiba's meal. "You can't be serious," Yami dipped one piece of potato with the ketchup before offering it to Kaiba's mouth. "Come on, try it!"

"Ahh," Kaiba threw his head back word a little. "Move that thing away from my face."

"Just this once, you won't regret it. Even if you do, I won't repeat it." Yami insisted, swinging the french fry in front of Kaiba's mouth.

"Yami," Kaiba called, shaking his head.

"For me! One time!" Yami smiled brightly when the other sighed in defeat. Holding Yami's hand with his, Kaiba took the dripping-red fried potato in his mouth, chewing it with disgust that soon disappeared.

"Well?" Yami asked.

"It was good," Kaiba commented, not letting go of Yami's hand.

"Then you should try more, told you!"

"No! I'll just eat what left here!" To Yami's shock, Kaiba took Yami's finger to his mouth, sucking on it gently, playing, flicking his tongue around the slim digit. The slow motion of the brunet's dexterous massage, the faint bites, and the sensation of the warm liquid against his finger made Yami's breath heavy. Surely Kaiba was doing this on purpose!

"This tastes much better," Kaiba said when his mouth became unoccupied. And Yami was thankful for the darkness of the night entering that hid completely his blush at Kaiba's suggestive manner.

"What was that?"

"Ketchup!" Kaiba answered playfully, adding, "Shall I try the ones on your face too?" and without hearing the answer he bent down licking the side of Yami's face all the way up and then sliding dawn before landing oh his lips that opened immediately welcoming the sportive tongue. Thrilled by the large hand that looped around his neck pulling them closer to each other, an overwhelming sensation of burning desire to experience more trailed on, slowly replacing the consciousness that was slipping away …. Far away.

* * *

End of chapter 16 (The most important chapter) ... Please tell me what you think of the story so far, especially this long waited chapter, what do you think of the date? Good, bad? Is it somehow like you imagined or what?

(1) Again, If you still remember in the sixth chapter and the tips Yami gave Joey for his date ... now Joey is using the same tips on Yami :D

Okay, now I only one chapter left, As I said it's written but not edited ...


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks to JollyBigSis for editing the chapter and adding more description to it. You are amazing :)

**Yes the last chapter ... **

I don't own YGO

Chapter 17

* * *

The sunlight of the morning after cheerily infiltrated its way through the window and into the room. It urged the sleeping figure of Yami to wake despite the resistance from every part of his body not to do so. The spent youth lying on his stomach yawned and rubbed his sleepy eyes before taking a peek at the time.

_He was late! _

Telling himself to get up and prepare for the new academic day, a knock on the bedroom door interrupted his thoughts and the figure of his flat-mate appeared through the door.

"Awake, Sunshine?" The cheerful blond asked, striding to over to Yami and settling himself on the bed beside his friend. "How was yesterday?"

"Joey?" groaned Yami agitatedly; he wanted more time to rest…to recover.

"Yes, I'm earlier than you today!" Joey patted Yami's arm gently. "Come on, tell me… The date went well, right?"

"Yeah," answered Yami, getting up with much difficulty and crawling out of bed with immense effort. He took a few shaky steps forward.

"Ooooh," said Joey, eyes wide at the comical sight before him. Unable to contain his amusement any longer, he burst into a fit of laughter.

"Joey! It's not funny!" the sore male growled, exasperated his friend saw him in such a lame state.

"Of course it's not funny, it's a pain in the ass!" Joey corrected, laughing even harder. "After all, he definitely _wasn't_ after your ass!"

Deciding it was better not to embarrass himself further by _trying_ to walk—at least until he was alone, Yami shuffled back to bed. Sitting down next to Joey, he shrieked loudly as a sharp pain shot up the lower part of his body. Immediately he glared at the person next to him, warning the other not to make an unnecessary comment that could worsen the situation.

"You should rest more," Joey suggested shaking his head sympathetically. "Lie down like before."

"I can't! I'll miss my lecture!"

"Are you seriously thinking about going today?" Joey asked, blinking in disbelief. "The whole school will know about it—not to mention, they'll realize your _position_ too!"

"But I don't like to miss the last few days of school," Yami protested, his voice muffled slightly by the pillows as he laid on his front, a less painful position.

"You only have the one lecture, right? I'll get the notes from your mates in that class, okay?"

"Okay," conceded Yami, knowing there were no better options available to him. Joey was right; he would be the talk of the university if he appeared on campus in his present shape.

"Alright!" Joey cheered with an evil grin stretched across his face; it made Yami raise a quizzical brow at the scary expression. Fortunately, the former didn't leave him clueless for too long. "I suppose the date went better than anticipated?" he said, a sly look accompanying the words.

"Oh, don't you start with that again, Joey," huffed Yami, burying his face in the folded arms, which rested on top of the pillows.

"Okay, okay! I'll go now! Take care of yourself, okay?" chuckled Joey as he withdrew from the room in defeat. Sensing Yami's reluctance in revealing the details of his date with Kaiba, he did not want to force the issue. He was sure he would learn of it in due course.

Beaming brightly, Joey left for university.

Meanwhile, in his bed to rest his aching body, Yami drifted back to sleep again. When he awoke, he felt much better, the pain had eased off and it didn't hurt every time he tried to move. Remembering he had set his cell phone to "Silent Mode" so he wouldn't be disturbed, he reached for his phone to check if he had received any messages from Kaiba.

Looking at the display screen, Yami gasped loudly, his eyes wide as saucers. He had 21 missed calls from his grandfather and his brother! Plagued with guilt at the anxiety his family must have been feeling by now, he ignored all else and called Yugi. He needed to reassure his family that all was well with him.

The phone rang once before it was answered.

"_Yugi!"_ exclaimed Yami when the younger sibling picked up.

"Yami!" replied Yugi with equal enthusiasm. "What happened to you? Joey said you couldn't walk! Is it true?"

Immediately the color drained from Yami's face. How could Joey be so dense and say something like that to worry Yugi? No wonder he was frantically calling him. And how was he going to explain the situation?

"Erm…Yugi, it's not what you think."

"What do you mean it's not what I think? We tried to reach you but you didn't answer. Then we called Joey because we thought you had forgotten your cell as usual. Joey was at the university and told us that you weren't there. Initially he tried to hide the reason of your absence but we eventually discovered it was because you couldn't use your legs!"

Yami sighed wearily. He could hear the concern in Yugi's voice despite the rushed explanation. Yet at the same time he knew his brother could be very forceful if need be. He must have insisted that Joey tell him the truth and the poor guy had to inform him—or a part of it. Obviously, he left the task of filling out the details as to _why_ Yami couldn't use his legs to the person himself!

"Yugi, you are over-acting! I am fine."

"What do you mean 'fine'? You can't even stand! We are even more worried now! How could Joey leave you in such condition! the younger Mutou's tone was reproachful at the blond. "Are you in hospital now?"

"Yugi! Stop being so paranoid!" demanded Yami. He knew the other meant well but the hysterics he was displaying was stifling—and frightening! One of these days, it will be his undoing.

"I'm not!" Yugi shot back. "Now grandpa and I are coming to you, but first we need to call you, an ambulance. Oh, and I have to pack some clothes for myself so I can stay with you at the hospital! Just hang in there!"

"Wooh… Wooooh…hold on, Yugi!" Yami was astonished with how the situation had accelerated out of control. He had to put a stop to it even if it meant telling Yugi the truth. "Just calm down for a moment, okay? I will tell you the truth…"

"Tell me what?" asked the younger curiously.

Yami took a few deep breaths. "Listen," he said cautiously; admitting such matters to his brother was harder than he anticipated. "You might find this disturbing…or confusing or unbelievable…or…or… Last night I—I slept with Seto Kaiba!"

There! He finally confessed! Multiple gasps could be heard in the background straight after his declaration. "Yugi?" asked Yami fearfully.

"Umm… Yami," Yugi began uneasily, "Well, you see…umm…we were on the loudspeaker. Since we were all very worried about you we all wanted to hear you were okay."

_Who's there?_ thought Yami with growing dread.

"Umm…" continued Yugi as if he heard his sibling's unspoken question. "Grandpa is here with his friend, Dr. Hopkins and his granddaughter, Rebecca and some of Rebecca's friends as well. Serenity with her mother and their friend, Mai came over when they heard Joey left you alone…and…"

_Oh God!_

Yami instantly hung up the phone without saying goodbye. The more Yugi recalled the names of those present, the more he felt mortified. He made a mental note to self _not_ to visit his family for the next five years!

Inside the game shop, Yugi sporting a red face, slowly put the phone back in its cradle. "At least, we know he is fine now," he quipped nervously.

Everyone was rendered temporarily speechless at what they just heard. Mai, who unlike the rest was more amused, than shocked, finally broke the silence. "Did he just say 'Seto Kaiba'?"

* * *

One month later…

With a creak, the door of Yami's room was flung open, impacting with the wall behind it with a loud bang. Kaiba, whilst holding Yami in a tight embrace, backed him up against the wall, pressing his heated body onto the other. Yami groaned when Kaiba nipped his earlobes, "Seto!" he panted breathlessly. It was hard for him to breathe let alone speak to warn the passionate brunet about the presence of his flat mate, "Joey's still here…in the apartment."

"Then try to be quiet," murmured Kaiba, brushing his lips against Yami's before moving down; planting a quick trail of kisses along the latter's beautifully carved jaw line. It sent an electrifying shiver down the slender body, encouraging Kaiba's hands to shamelessly wander over Yami's clothed back.

"You're not helping asshole!" Yami's eyes closed tightly, biting his lips, trying to deny the spark of pleasure that flashed involuntarily inside him when playful hands sneaked their way under his loose-buttoned shirt. His body writhed helplessly.

Pitying the petit male when he saw how hard he was struggling to contain his whimpers, Kaiba dismissed the temptation to rake his nails along the silky skin. Instead he yanked the shirt over the tricolor head and tossed it aside. "Then we shouldn't be standing next to the door," he whispered seductively. "Let's go to bed."

"Oh!" said Yami hesitantly, not liking the idea of being heard by others. He wanted to ensure that Joey was not around first.

"Is that a 'No'?" smirked Kaiba, misreading Yami's protest on purpose. Then with a shrug, he slammed his hands on the wall on each the side of Yami's head, grinning wickedly, "Fine! We'll continue here then!"

Yami tensed, expecting another round of kisses to be showered on his face—but it did not happen. Looking up, Yami saw the cobalt eyes staring at him intensely, his own reflection mirrored in. Heavy silence ensued and it irked the smaller man. "Seto?" he prompted softly.

Kaiba stared deeply into those unbelievably glorious eyes, their shade of crimson, which sparkled with enthusiasm and pride when their owner spoke; Kaiba could not ask for more. He never imagined that someone like Yami existed. He was like an angel, a beautiful creature from the ancient legends or famous myths, which he never use to believe in. Yet the evidence was, undeniably, in front of his eyes and he still wanted to proof, wanted to know if Yami was _real_ and _his_—body and soul… His insecurity made him anxious. "Kiss me," demanded Kaiba softly, his request ending the tensed silence.

Yami reached out his hand and cupped Kaiba's face, lightly pressing his lips against others. Kaiba immediately deepened the kiss, passionately probing further, desperately wanting to consume all of Yami from the one kiss. Responding with equal fierceness, Yami closed his eyes, allowing the feeling of desire to burn through him. Enjoying the moment to the fullest, he slid his arms around his lover's neck, a delightfully tortured moan escaped from his lips; his mind too overwhelmed to care or to prevent it.

"Yami, I thought I heard some…" Joey trailed off into shocked silence. The preoccupied couple immediately broke off at the interruption. "Oh, never mind!" he said leaving them hurriedly.

"Thanks for the rude interruption! Talk about major turn-offs!" Kaiba grumbled. Yami poked him, hoping Joey did not hear the remark. It had been more than a month since their quarrel and Joey had not been on the chat site since; guilt plagued Yami, as he felt responsible for it. The fact that he had a boyfriend whilst his friend was still searching for love only pained him more and Kaiba wasn't helping either. Yami hated being intimate in front of Joey. Even though he acted all cool about it, he knew his friend well enough to know he was deeply affected.

"Why don't you change and I'll wait for you in the car?" suggested Kaiba. He knew it would be impossible to finish what they started if they remained.

Yami nodded. Kaiba went to his car and Yami to Joey.

"Sorry man, I didn't know that Kaiba was here."

"It's okay Joe," soothed Yami, smiling warmly. "It's my fault. I should have told you."

"Don't be silly!" Joey chuckled fondly. "C'mon, what are still doing here? Go after him. I bet he is aching for you now."

Yami's expression softened, his eyes tearing up. All he could do was hug his selfless and sincere friend tightly before he was gently pushed away.

"Just go! And have a good time, okay?"

* * *

At the end of that day, Kaiba drove Yami back to his flat in his bright red Lexus.

"Today was great! Thanks Seto," said Yami, appreciating his boyfriend's effort to have the day off and take him out. They went many places and did many things. It was a refreshing break from constant studying he had to endure. It was the finals and Kaiba did all he could to lighten up the mood for Yami during this period. Exams were a nightmare for the latter.

Suddenly a limo from the mansion appeared, stopping beside them.

"Who's that?" Yami asked, peering at the other car.

"Roland," replied Kaiba.

"What's he doing here?"

"He came to pick me up."

"What?" Yami blinked rapidly a couple of times. "You need _two_ cars to take you home?"

Kaiba laughed at the silliness of the idea even if he was not serious, Yami could be so cute. "No, I am giving this one to you," he said affectionately, pulling out the key and handing it to Yami.

"What?" the word fell from the mouth that was agape from disbelief. Then realizing Kaiba was serious he pulled himself together. "No, Seto," he objected, pushing back the hand that held the key. "I can't."

"You are going to need it. This way you don't have to set out early to get to the university, with this you can take you time. Besides, it convenient to visit your family with this; you don't have to waste half your day on trains and buses."

"You're right but…"

"You have a driver's license, right?"

"Yeah," Yami answered timidly. He got the license to help his grandfather to transport goods for the game shop-it happened before he attended university. Yami had not been behind a wheel since then. But that was not the problem. "Seto, this is too much! I don't know how I'm going to pay for it!"

"Why does everything, in your mind, have to come at a price?" Kaiba asked lovingly, reaching out and fondly stroking Yami's cheek; tilting the face up until their eyes met. "You are mine," he whispered as he closed in the space between them. "Let _that_ be enough."

Yami, feeling the hot breathe against his neck, shivered. "Thanks," he managed to say, accepting the key.

Kaiba placed a quick kiss under Yami's chin before returning to his seat with a wide smirk on his handsome face. "You can thank me more appropriately after you've finished your exams." With that said, he got out of the car and headed towards the other one where Roland stood waiting with the door open.

Yami went inside after the limo left. The apartment was quiet so Yami assumed Joey was either asleep or out.

"Joey, I'm home!"

Joey didn't answer but Yami was sure he heard his voice from his room. Did he wake Joey when he called out to him? Yami decided to check.

"Stop teasing me!" Joey begged.

"I'm not teasing you," Yami said before opening the door of Joey's room. "I only said that I'm—OH! HOLY CRAP!" shrieked Yami at the horrible sight in front of him. Joey was on the bed—completely naked on his knees and forearms; his ass up in the air with _another_ naked erected guy behind him groping his butt cheeks.

"Oh shit!" cried Joey, wincing at the sight of the unexpected visitor and burying his face into the bed sheets.

Yami shut the door immediately. If life sprung any more surprises like that, he would die from a heart attack soon. He was lucky he didn't have one a few seconds ago!

Several minutes later, Joey looking extremely abashed walked out of his room—alone. Yami was relieved to see him wearing a T-shirt and his regular jeans. The whole situation was somewhat awkward for the both of them, making the atmosphere rather uncomfortable.

"Who is he?" Yami was the first to speak.

"His name is Varon. He's an exchange student from Australia and a friend of Rafael's." (1)

"Is that how you knew him?"

"No!" Joey cast his eyes down, knowing he had to explain the whole matter to Yami. "On that day we fought, I went to stay at Tristan's. I forgot the books I needed at the library and had to go back for them. Well, there were many books and it kinda piled up when I was carrying them, blocking my view. Varon was walking in the direction opposite me, carrying a hot cup of coffee and looking away so we crashed into one another. The books fell on the floor and the hot coffee all over my shirt! Varon was very apologetic, he insisted on taking me to his neighbor who is a nurse to examine me for burns. Since then we've spent most of the time together. So that is how it happened!" (2)

"I heard this conversation before…but when and where?" Yami stroked his chin, in mock puzzlement. It was obvious the smaller male was teasing the taller one. "Oh! I remember…when you told me about relationships that happens only on T.V!"

"I didn't want to tell you about it because I know you'll make fun of me, reminding me of this!" Joey was sure of it especially after mercilessly teasing Yami for falling in love with Kaiba from chatting online—despite not believing in this type of relationship.

"And that's a good reason for _not_ telling me? You've kept me in the dark for more than a month? Oh, wait…when were planning to tell me if it weren't for today's little _mishap?"_

"Soon."

"I don't buy it!" laughed Yami, folding his arms together and enjoying the conversation unlike Joey who was still squirming. "You made me very worried about you, not to mention I would feel guilty when I am with Seto! Wait…" realization dawned on Yami. "Is that why you told me to go and have a good time and that Seto was aching for me?"

"Well… There's more than one side to every story, right?" Joey tried to pick his words carefully, pissing off Yami at that moment would not be a good idea.

"You are unbelievable, Joe!"

"Look, you didn't say you were coming back today!"

"And I didn't say I was going to sleep out tonight either! Speaking of which, how can I sleep after _that? _How can I remove that horrifying image? I should definitely wash my eyes out with bleach," complained Yami, shaking his rigorously in an attempt to clear his haunted mind.

"Hey!" objected Joey. "It's not like I didn't see you and your boyfriend in a compromising position too!"

Yami gasped in astonishment from the ridiculous statement. "How could you compare _that_ to what Seto and I were doing? First, Seto was fully clothed and second, I was only topless!"

At that moment, Varon emerged from Joey's room fully clothed.

"Hi," he greeted Yami before taking a seat beside Joey.

"Hey," replied Yami.

"I actually was hoping to meet you under better conditions. Joey told me a lot about you and I heard from Rafael as well so I wanted to meet you but Joey suggested delaying it for a while. I am sorry if what happened upset you in any way," the brown-haired man spoke calmly, sincerity and respect underlying his words.

"Well, it is nice to meet you too…and don't worry about it," reassured Yami.

"I'm glad to hear that, Yami."

"I'm glad too, Varon," Yami arched an elegant brow. "Your name is Varon, right?"

"Yeah."

"Did anyone call you _Ron_ by any chance?" asked Yami.

Joey looked as if he were going to have a seizure! Was Yami having his revenge on him? The Aussie looked puzzled.

"Whaaaa!" the blond interrupted. "Actually, Yami was about to leave—we mustn't detain him further!"

"_Where?"_ Yami mouthed to Joey when the other wasn't looking.

"To your boyfriend's house!" whispered Joey fiercely.

"My boyfriend has an overblown load of work to do. I shouldn't distract him from his business." Yami shot back.

"Then go to Tristan's! He needs someone to study with."

"Alright, alright!" chuckled Yami holding up his hands in defeat before going off the gather the books he required for the next exam to take with him. Reaching the door, Yami stopped. "Joey, do you have a fetish for people from another country? Considering Ron—I mean _Varon_ is from Australia," Yami watched in amusement as the blond's face changed into different shades of red. He wasn't far off from the truth. The previous Ron was from Italy; Atemu was from Egypt while Varon was from Australia.

Varon continued to look confused.

Joey swiftly opened the apartment's door and motioned for Yami to depart, "Yami! Tristan is waiting!"

"Don't you mean 'aching for me'?" Yami laughed. He couldn't help teasing his friend even if it meant the latter had one hell of an explanation to give to Varon after!

Briskly exiting the building, Yami smiled when he spied the red car parked in front of the complex, "Ah Seto, you said that I was going to need a car but I didn't expect to need so soon."

With a light shrug, he unlocked the door and got inside. Placing his books on the passenger seat, he promptly adjusted the seat and mirrors when that was done he paused briefly before he broke into a wide grin.

Turning on the car's GPS, he entered the instructions for it to direct him to a specific place, an address the car would have been familiar with already. Turning on the engine, selecting his gear and releasing the brakes, Yami carefully pulled out and drove towards the direction of the mansion…

* * *

~THE END~

(1) I don't know if you recognized the Japaneses mane for the character "Valon" which is "Varon" who was with Rafael and Alester in the 4th season from the Anime.

(2) I don't know if you still remember after this long time in the first chapter when Joey mocked Yami that he couldn't find love like in T.V dramas ... Ironically he found his other half that way ... Yes! I was planning that from the beginning but I wasn't sure about who to pair him with!

Now thanks for evryone kept reading this story and been patience with me ... it took more and a year and a half ... I hope you didn't get bred already with it ... I love you all guys :)

Again ... I would like to repeat my gratitude to Blue September and Jollybigsis for their awesome work ... and thanks to them my writing improved in some areas ... thanks really :) and speaking of which, Jollybigsis started writing wonderful prideshipping stories instead of being just a reader and I recommended all her stories ... especially 'Misgiving' ;) You can also torment her asking for sooner updates like what I do :D (I know that I'm not the one to speak when it comes to updates :P) ... So she was editing for me and writing her stories ... now the journey is over ... I'm really happy to know you two :)


End file.
